IRON   AND   STEEL 


Published   by  the 

McGraw-Hill   Book.  Company 


to  theBookDeparfments  of  the} 

McGraw  Publishing  Company  Hill  Publishing1  Company 

'Publishers  of  Books  for 

Electrical  World  The  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal 

Engineering  Record  Power  and  The  Engineer 

Electric  RaiKvay  Journal  American   Machinist 

Metallurgical  and  Chemical  Engineering 


UiLlT  ff  KIT  fff  IT  g  g  flu  I 


THE    MANUFACTURE  AND    PROPERTIES 

OF 

IRON  AND   STEEL 


BY 


HARRY  HUSE   CAMPBELL 

rgical  Engineer  for  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Co.,  M. 
Steel  Co.,  and  The  Spanish  American  Iron  Co. 


FOURTH  EDITION 

SECOND  IMPRESSION 


McGRAW-HILL  BOOK  COMPANY 

239  WEST  39TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

6  BOUVERIE  STREET,  LONDON,  E.G. 

1907 


COPYRIGHT,  1896 

BY 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
COPYRIGHT,  1903 

BY 

THE  ENGINEERING  AND  MINING  JOURNAL 
COPYRIGHT,  1907 

BY 

HILL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK 


T~//  y^jr 


Mi»*ir4<*  u«.r»« 


AtSO    ENTERED  AT   STATIONERS     HALL,  LONDON,  ENGLAND 


All  rights  reserved 


'3G    DEPT. 


To 

ALL  THOSE,  FAMOUS  OR  OBSCURE, 

WHO,  BY  THE  FURNACE,  IN  THE  SHOP,  OR  AT  THE  DESK, 

ARE  JOINING  HAND  AND  BRAIN  TO  SOLVE  THE 

PROBLEMS  OF 

THE  METALLURGIC  ART, 

THIS  VOLUME  is  FRATERNALLY  DEDICATED. 


438923 


PREFACE    TO    SECOND    EDITION 

There  are  many  engineers  who  wish  a  brief  statement  of  the  art 
of  making  steel.  It  is  impossible  to  do  this  and  at  the  same  time 
discuss  the  metallurgical  details,  for  this  involves  shop  language 
not  understood  by  any  except  metallurgists.  The  great  electrician 
whose  genius  has  been  crowned  with  the  laurels  of  two  hemispheres 
referred  to  the  first  edition  of  this  book  and  laughingly,  but 
earnestly,  declared  that  the  chapter  on  the  open-hearth  was  too 
abstruse  for  his  intellect,  while  an  uneducated  open-hearth  melter 
told  me  he  had  learned,  from  that  same  chapter,  how  to  build  a 
furnace,  how  to  run  it,  and  how  to  make  a  good  livelihood.  The 
melter  understood  my  language,  but  to  Edison  it  was  a  foreign 
tongue. 

Part  I  is  a  sort  of  Introduction  for  those  who  are  not  metal- 
lurgists. Part  II  embraces  the  ground  covered  by  the  first  edition 
of  Structural  Steel.  The  text  relating  to  the  open-hearth  furnace 
has  been  condensed  from  certain  papers  contributed  to  the  Trans. 
Am.  Inst.  Mining  Engineers,  Vol.  XIX,  pp.  128  to  187;  Vol.  XX, 
pp.  227  to  232,  and  Vol.  XXII,  pp.  345  to  511,  and  679  to  696, 
while  portions  of  Chapters  XVI,  XVII  and  XVIII  appeared  in  the 
Trans.  Am.  Soc.  Civil  Engineers,  April,  1895.  The  experiments 
have  been  conducted  at  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Works,  of  Steelton, 
Pa.,  and  all  details  of  manufacture  have  been  under  my  direct 
observation. 

In  Part  III  I  have  compared  the  condition  of  the  iron  industry 
in  different  countries.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  American 
districts  so  fully  that  every  metallurgist  would  find  all  the  informa- 
tion he  might  wish,  or  even  a  record  of  all  that  he  already  knows. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  tell  an  English  engineer  much  about  those 
parts  of  his  own  country  with  which  he  is  acquainted.  It  may  be 
possible,  however,  to  clear  the  way  for  a  foreigner  visiting  America, 
or  an  American  visiting  other  lands. 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

Some  readers  might  prefer  that  less  space  should  be  devoted  to 
theoretical  matter  and  more  to  descriptions  of  apparatus,  but  in  my 
opinion  the  place  for  such  information  is  in  the  trade  periodicals. 
It  takes  so  long  to  print  a  book  that  drawings  are  antiquated  when 
the  issue  appears,  but  the  fundamental  principles  of  metallurgy 
remain  the  same.  A  book  issued  in  England  refers  courteously  to 
the  former  edition  of  this  work,  but  states  that  little  information  is 
given  concerning  the  practical  details  of  operation.  That  same 
book  sets  forth  that  an  open-hearth  furnace  is  charged  by  putting 
the  pig-iron  in  first ;  that  in  a  twenty-five-ton  furnace  not  over  nine 
men  can  be  employed,  even  when  there  are  doors  on  both  sides,  and 
that  with  rapid  work  it  takes  two  hours  to  charge  a  heat.  Now 
those  figures  are  true  for  the  district  with  which  that  writer  was 
familiar,  but  in  America  the  pig-iron  is  put  in  last,  while  at  Steel- 
ton  on  a  furnace  of  the  size  mentioned  we  use  twice  the  number 
of  men  and  with  good  scrap  finish  the  work  by  charging,  by  hand 
labor  only,  in  a  period  ranging  from  thirty  minutes  down  to  eleven 
minutes.  Of  equal  value  is  much  of  the  so-called  practical  infor- 
mation given  in  metallurgical  treatises. 

It  only  remains  to  thank  many  friends,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
for  aiding  in  this  work  which  has  been  accomplished  in  the  intervals 
of  what  I  trust  is  not  otherwise  an  entirely  idle  life. 

H.  H.  CAMPBELL. 

Steelton,  Pa.,  December,  1908. 


PREFACE    TO    FOURTH    EDITION 

Many  changes  have  been  made  in  preparing  the  fourth  edition. 
By  constant  additions  the  book  had  grown  too  big  to  be  convenient, 
so  that  every  line  has  been  gone  over  to  eliminate  unnecessary 
phrases  or  words.  The  detailed  calculations  by  the  method  of  least 
squares  in  Chapter  XVII  has  been  omitted,  and  it  has  been  deemed 
unnecessary  to  print  the  Standard  Specifications  in  full,  since  they 
are  constantly  subject  to  change.  On  the  other  hand,  much  new 
matter  has  been  added ;  a  new  determination  of  the  effect  of  certain 
elements  upon  steel  is  given  in  Chapter  XVII,  and  at  a  hundred 
places  new  knowledge  has  been  interpolated  as  suggested  by  recent 
progress,  or  by  friends,  both  here  and  abroad,  who  have  volunteered 
information  looking  to  the  improvement  of  this  book. 

H.  H.  CAMPBELL. 

Steelton,  Pa.,  October,  1906, 


vii 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 

PAKT  I. 
The  Main  Principles  of  Iron  Metallurgy.  pAQE 

The  making  of  pig-iron 3 

The  making  of  wrought-iron 5 

A  definition  of  steel 6 

The  making  of  crucible  steel 7 

The  acid  Bessemer  process  7 

The  basic  Bessemer  process 9 

The  open-hearth  furnace 11 

The  acid  open-hearth  process 12 

The  basic  open-hearth  process 15 

Segregation 17 

The  influence  of  hot  working  on  steel 18 

The  effect  caused  by  changes  in  the  shape  of  the  test-piece 19 

The  influence  of  certain  elements  upon  steel 21 

Specifications  on  structural  material 24 

Welding 26 

Steel  castings 26 

Inspection  27 

Errors  in  chemical  records 31 

PABT  II. 

The  Metallurgy  of  Iron  and  Steel. 

CHAPTER  I. — PRIMITIVE  METHODS  OF  MAKING  IRON. 

CHAPTER  II. — THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 

SECTION  Ha.           General  description 37 

lib.           Ore 40 

He.           Fuel   42 

lid.           Amount  of  ore  and  fuel  required 43 

He.           Limestone  43 

Ilf.         *  Use  of  burned  lime 44 

Hg.           The  blast 45 

Ilh.        -  The  temperature  obtained  with  hot  blast 46 

Hi.            Vapor  in  the  atmosphere 47 

Hj.            Metallurgical   conditions 49 

ix 


X  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Ilk.  Chemical  reactions 53 

III.  Utilization  and  waste  of  heat 67 

Urn.  Tunnel  head  gases 71 

Iln.  Volume  and  value  of  gas 73 

Ho.  Rough  estimate  of  the  volume  of  the  gas 75 

Up.  Rough  estimate  of  the  heat  value  of  the  gas  ....  76 

Ilq.  Steam  in  gas 76 

Ilr.  Heating  the  blast 77 

Us.  Combustion  of  the  gas  under  boilers 77 

lit  Production  of  power  in  steam  engines 79 

IIu.  Production  of  power  in  gas  engines 80 

IIv.  General  conclusions  on  production  of  power 80 

Hw.  Composition  of  pig-iron 81 

IIx.  Structure  of  cast-iron 83 

CHAPTER  III. — WROUGHT-!RON. 

SECTION  Ilia.  Description  of  the  puddling  process 85 

Illb.  Effect  of  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon 85 

IIIc.  Chemical  history  of  sulphur  and  phosphorus..  86 

Hid.  The  temperature  of  the  furnace 88 

Ille.  Effect  of  work  on  wrought-iron 89 

IHf.  Heterogeneity  of  wrought-iron 89 

IHg.  Conditions  affecting  welding 90 

CHAPTER  IV. — STEEL. 
CHAPTER  V. — HIGH-CARBON  STEEL. 

SECTION  Va.  Manufacture  of  crucible  steel 94 

Vb.  Reactions  in  the  crucible 95 

Vc.  Specifications  on  high  steel 95 

Vd.  Manufacture  of  high  steel  in  the  open  hearth . .  97 

CHAPTER  VI. — THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS. 

SECTION  Via.          Construction  of  a  converter 100 

VIb.          Chemical  history  of  a  charge 102 

Vic.          Variations  due  to  different  contents  of  silicoL . .  103 

VId.          Swedish  practice 104 

Vie.          History  of  the  slag 105 

Vlf.  Loss  in  blowing '. 107 

VIg.          Calorific  history 108 

Vlh.          Direct  metal 108 

Vli.          Cupola  metal 110 

VIj.  Factors  affecting  the  calorific  history 110 

VIk.          Recarburization  .,  112 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  xl 

CHAPTER  VII. — THE  BASIC  BESSEMER  PROCESS.        PAGE 

SECTION  Vila.  Outline  of  the  basic  Bessemer  process 113 

Vllb.  Elimination  of  phosphorus 114 

VIIc.  Amount  of  lime  required 115 

VTId.  Chemical  reactions 116 

Vile.  Elimination  of  sulphur 117 

Vllf .  Calorific  equation 119 

Vllg.  Recarburization 120 

CHAPTER  VIII. — THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 

SECTION  Villa.  Description  of  a  regenerative  furnace 122 

VHIb.  Quality  of  the  gas  required 123 

VIIIc.  Construction  of  a  furnace 125 

VHId.  Tilting  open-hearth  furnace 132 

Vllle.  Method  of  charging 143 

Vlllf.  Ports 144 

VHIg.  Valves  144 

Vlllh.  Regulation  of  the  temperature 146 

Vllli.  Calorific  equation 148 

CHAPTER  IX. — FUEL. 

SECTION  IXa.  The  combustion  of     fuel 158 

IXb.  Producers  160 

IXc.  Miscellaneous  fuels 167 

IXd.  Heating  furnaces 170 

IXe.  Coke  ovens 173 

IXf.  Coal   washing 178 

CHAPTER  X. — THE  ACID  OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 

SECTION  Xa.  Nature  of  the  charge  in  a  steel  melting  furnace .  179 

Xb.  Chemical  history  during  melting 180 

Xc.  Chemical  history  after  melting 181 

Xd.  Quantitative  calculations  on  slags 183 

Xe.  Reduction  of  iron  ore  when  added  to  a  charge. .  184 

Xf.  Pig  and  ore  process 184 

Xg.  Conditions  modifying  the  product 185 

Xh.  Sulphur  and  phosphorus 187 

Xi.  Method  of  making  tests 187 

Xj.  Recarburization   188 

CHAPTER  XI. — THE  BASIC  OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 

SECTION  XIa.  Construction  of  a  basic  open-hearth  bottom 190 

Xlb.  Functions  of  the  basic  additions 190 


211  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XIc.          Use  of  ore  mixed  with  the  charge 192 

Xld.          Chemical  history,  no  ore  mixed  with  stock 192 

Xle.          Elimination  of  phosphorus  during  melting 193 

Xlf.          Composition  of  the  slag  after  melting. 193 

Xlg.          Relative  value  of  different  limes 194 

Xlh.          Basic  open-hearth  slags 195 

Xli.           Automatic  regulation  of  fluidity  in  slags 197 

XIJ.           Determining  chemical  conditions  in  slags 199 

Xlk.          Elimination  of  sulphur 20fr 

XII.           Removal  of  the  slag  after  melting 204 

Xlm.         Automatic  formation  of  a  slag  of  a  given  com- 
position    204 

XIn.          Recarburization  and  rephosphorization 205 

CHAPTER  XII. — SPECIAL  METHODS  OF  MANUFACTURE  AND  SOME 
ITEMS  AFFECTING  THE  COSTS. 

SECTION  XI la.        Low  phosphorus  acid  open-hearth  steel  at  Steel- 
ton  207 

Xllb.        The  pig  and  ore  basic  process 211 

XIIc.         The  Talbot  process 213 

Xlld.        The  Bertrand  Thiel  process 216 

Xlle.         The  heat  absorbed  by  the  reduction  of  iron  ore.  .  219 

Xllf.         Ore  needed  to  reduce  a  bath  of  pig-iron 224 

Xllg.         The  gain  in  weight  by  reduction  of  iron  ore. . . .  228 

Xllh.        The  duplex  process 231 

CHAPTER  XIII. — SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 

SECTION  XHIa.       Cause  of  segregation 234 

Xlllb.       Segregation  in  steel  castings 237 

XIIIc.        Segregation  in  plate  ingots 239 

XHId.       Homogeneity  in  plates 240 

XHIe.       Acid  rivet  and  angle  steel 247 

Xlllf.       High-carbon  steel 249 

XHIg.       Acid  open-hearth  nickel  steel 250 

XHIh.       Investigations  on  Swedish  steel 254 

CHAPTER  XIV. — INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 

SECTION  XI  Va,        Effect  of  thickness  upon  the  physical  properties.  257 

XI Vb.        Discussion  of  Riley's  investigations  on  plates. .  258 

XIVc.        Amount  of  work  necessary  to  obtain  good  results  259 

XlVd.       Experiments  on  forgings 263 

XlVe.        Tests  on  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  angles. . .  264 
XlVf.        Comparison  of  the  strength  of  angles  with  that 

of  the  preliminary  test-piece 266 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


Xlll 


PAGE 


XlVg.  Physical  properties  of  the  Pennsylvania  Steel 

Company  steels  of  various  compositions 267 

XlVh.  Properties  of  hand  and  guide  rounds 268 

XlVi.  Effect  of  variations  in  the  details  of  plate  rolling  269 

XI Vj.  Physical  properties  of  plates  and  angles 271 

XI Vk.  Effect  of  thickness  on  the  properties  of  plates.  272 

CHAPTER  XV. — HEAT  TREATMENT. 

SECTION  XVa,  Effect  of  annealing^on  rolled  bars 274 

XVb.  Annealing  bars  rolled  at  different  temperatures.  278 

XVc.  Effect  of  annealing  on  bars 279 

XVd.  Effect  of  annealing  on  plates 280 

XVe.  Effect  of  annealing  eye-bar  flats 282 

XVf.  Methods  of  annealing 282 

XVg.  Further  experiments  on  annealing  rolled  bars..  284 ( 

XVh.  The  determination  of  temperature 285 

XVL  Definition  of  the  term  "critical  point" 287 

XVj.  Different  structures  seen  under  the  microscope. .  296 

XVk.  Effect  of  work  on  soft  steel  and  forging  steel 302 

XVI.  Effect  of  work  upon  the  structure  of  rails 303 

XVm.  Effect  of  heat  treatment  upon  castings 305 

XVn.  Effect  of  heat  treatment  upon  rolled  material . . .  309 

XVo.  Theories  regarding  the  structure  of  steel 310 

CHAPTER  XVI. — THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 

SECTION  XVIa.  Difference  between  the  surface  and  the  interior.  313 

XVIb.  Strips  cut  from  eye-bar  flats 314 

XVIc.  Comparison  of  longitudinal  and  transverse  tests.  314 

XVId.  Comparison  of  parallel  and  grooved  tests 316 

XVIe.  Effect  of  shoulders  at  the  ends  of  test-pieces. . . .  316 

XVIf .  The   preliminary   test-piece 318 

XVIg.  Comparative  properties  of  rounds  and  flats 319 

XVIh.  Effect  of  diameter  upon  the  physical  properties.  322 

XVIi.  Influence  of  the  width  of  the  test-piece 325 

XVIj.  Influence  of  the  length  of  the  test-piece 327 

XVIk.  Tests  on  eye-bars 330 

XVII.  Effect  of  rest  after  rolling 337 

XVIm.  Errors  in  determining  the  physical  properties..  337 

XVIn.  Effect  of  variation  in  the  pulling  speed 342 

CHAPTER  XVII. — THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  THE 
PHYSICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  STEEL. 

SECTION  XVIIa.  Effect  of  carbon 343 

XVIIb.  Effect  of  silicon 344 

XVIIc.  Effect  of  manganese 350 

XVIId.  Effect  of  sulphur 355 


XIV 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

XVIIe.       Effect  of  phosphorus 356 

XVIIf.      Effect  of  copper 358 

XVIIg.      Effect  of  aluminum 361 

XVIIh.      Effect  of  arsenic 363 

XVIIi.       Effect  of  nickel,  tungsten  and  chromium 364 

XVIIj.       Effect  of  oxygen 366 

XVIIk.      Investigations  by  Webster 368 

XVIII.      Values  of  the  elements  as  found  by  the  method 

of  least  squares 368 

XVI Im.     Values  of  the  elements  as  found  by  plotting. . .  369 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — CLASSIFICATION  OF  STRUCTURAL  STEEL. 

SECTION  XVIIIa.    Influence  of  the  method  of  manufacture 392 

XVIIIb.    Chemical  specifications. 394 

XVIIIc.    Use  of  soft  steel  in  structural  work 396 

XVIIId.    Tests  on  plates 398 

XVIIIe.    Standard  size  of  test-pieces 399 

XVIIIf.     The  quench  test 400 

XVIIIg.    Standard  specifications 401 

CHAPTER  XIX. — WELDING. 

SECTION  XlXa.       Influence  of  structure  on  the  welding  properties.  402 

XlXb.       Tensile  tests  on  welded  bars  of  steel  and  iron.. .  403 

XIXc.        Influence  of  metalloids  upon  welding. 407 

CHAPTER  XX. — STEEL  CASTINGS. 

SECTION  XXa.         Definition  of  a  steel  casting 409 

XXb.         Methods  of  manufacture 410 

XXc.         Blow-holes   412 

XXd.         Phosphorus  and  sulphur  in  steel  castings 413 

XXe.         Effect  of  silicon,  manganese  and  aluminum.   . . .  413 

XXf .         Physical  tests  on  soft  steel  castings 414 

XXg.         Physical  tests  on  medium  hard  steel  castings. . .  417 

PART  III. 

The  Iron  Industry  of  the  Leading  Nations. 
CHAPTER  XXI. — FACTORS  IN  INDUSTRIAL  COMPETITION. 

SECTION  XXIa.       The  question  of  management 421 

XXIb.        The  question  of  employer  and  employed 426 

XXIc.       The  question  of  tariffs 435 

CHAPTER  XXII. — THE  UNITED  STATES. 

SECTION  XXIIa.      General  view 441 

XXIIb.      Coal  ..  447 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  XT 

PAGE 

XXIIc.  Lake  Superior 456 

XXIId.  Pittsburg 468 

XXIIe.  Chicago   473 

XXIIf.  Alabama 477 

XXIIg.  Johnstown 483 

XXIIh.  Steelton 483 

XXIIi.  Sparrow's  Point 485 

XXIIj.  Lake  Erie 489 

XXIIk,  Colorado   492 

XXIII.  Eastern  Pennsylvania 493 

XXIIm.  New  Jersey,  New  York  and  New  England 494 

CHAPTER  XXIII. — GREAT  BRITAIN. 

SECTION  XXIIIa.  General  view 496 

XXIIIb.  Northeast  Coast 503 

XXIIIc.  Scotland   •. 511 

XXIIId.  South  Wales 514 

XXIIIe.  Lancashire  and  Cumberland 517 

XXIIIf.  South  Yorkshire 520 

XXIIIg.  Staffordshire 521 

XXIIIh.  The  Eastern  Central  District 522 

CHAPTER  XXIV. — GERMANY. 

SECTION  XXIVa.  Statistics  525 

XXI Vb.  Lothringen  and  Luxemburg 527 

XXIVc.  The  Ruhr 537 

XXIVd.  Silesia 544 

XXIVe.  The  Saar 547 

XXIVf.  Aachen 548 

XXIVg.  Ilsede  and  Peine 549 

XXIVh.  Saxony   550 

XXIVi.  Siegen 550 

XXIVj.  Osnabruck 551 

XXIVk.  Bavaria  551 

XXIVI.  The  Lahn 552 

XXI  Vm,  Pommerania 552 

CHAPTER  XXV. — FRANCE. 

SECTION  XXVa.  General  view 553 

XXVb.  The  East 553 

XXVc.  The  North 558 

XXVd.  The  Centre 559 

XXVe.  The  South 561 

XXVf.  The  Northwest  and  the  Southwest. .  561 


Xvi  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. — RUSSIA.  PAGE 

SECTION  XXVIa.     General  view. 563 

XXVIb.     The  South 567 

XXVIc.     The  Urals 570 

XXVId.     Poland  573 

XXVIe.     The  Centre 574 

XXVIf.     The  North 575 

CHAPTER  XXVII. — AUSTRIA. 

SECTION  XXVIIa.  General  view 576 

XXVIIb.  Bohemia 579 

XXVIIc.   Moravia  and  Silesia 580 

XXVIId.  Styria  582 

XXVIIe.   Hungary  584 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.— BELGIUM.  58,7 

CHAPTER  XXIX.— SWEDEN.  593 

CHAPTER  XXX.— SPAIN.  601 

CHAPTER  XXXI.— ITALY.  605 

CHAPTER  XXXII.— CANADA.  607 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.— STATISTICS.  609 

APPENDIX. 

Value  of  certain  factors  used  in  iron  metallurgy 617 

Content  of  metallic  iron  in  pure  compounds  of  iron 617 

Reactions  in  open-hearth  furnaces , 617 

Properties  of  air 617 

Comparison  of  English  and  metric  systems 618 

Gravimetric  and  calorific  values..                618 


INDEX    TO    TABLES 


BLAST  FURNACE.  PAQE 

II-A    Blast-furnace  slags 50 

II-B    Practice  at  Middlesbro  and  Pittsburg 66 

II-C     Distribution  of  calorific  energy 67 

II-D    General  equation 69 

II-B    Method  of  calculating  the  composition  and  value  of 72 

II-F    Composition  and  value  of  the  gas 74 

II-G    Data  on  products  of  combustion 77 

II-H    Loss  of  heat  in  products  of  combustion 79 

II-I     Composition  of  pig-iron  and  spiegel 83 

WROUGHT-IRON. 

III-A    Elimination  of  metalloids  in  puddling 87 

III-B     Composition  of  puddle  cinder 89 

III-C     Plates  from  shear  and  universal  mills 90 

III-D    Irregularity  of  wrought-iron 91 

HIGH  STEEL. 

V-A     Steel  not  according  to  specification 96 

V-B     Clippings  from  top  and  bottom  of  ingot 97 

V-C     Variations  in  Swedish  metal 98 

V-D     Variations  in  one  lot  of  crucible  steel 99 

ACID  BESSEMER. 

VI-A  Chemical  history  of  a  charge 102 

VI-B   Manganiferous  irons  and  slags 104 

VI-C    Steel  from  manganiferous  irons 105 

VI-D  American  Bessemer  slags 106 

VI-E   Calorific  history 109 

BASIC  BESSEMER. 

VII-A   Metal,  slag  and  gases. 116 

VII-B   Reduction  of  manganese  from  slag 117 

VII-C    High  sulphur  iron  in  basic  converter 118 

VII-D   Calorific  equation  of  the  basic  Bessemer  process 120 

xvii 


INDEX  TO  TABLES. 


OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 

VIII-A    Distribution  of  heat  in  the  producer 153 

VIII-B    Distribution  of  heat  in  the  furnace 155 

VIII-C    Distribution  of  heat  in  producer  and  furnace  combined . .  157 

FUEL. 

IX-A  Products  of  combustion  of  hard  and  soft  coal 159 

IX-B  Loss  of  heat  in  products  of  combustion 160 

IX-C   Heat  lost  in  producer  ash 164 

IX-D  Heat  lost  by  CO2  in  gas 165 

IX-B  Waste  gases  from  reverberatory  furnaces 172 

IX-F  Calculations  on  waste  gases  from  reverberatory  furnaces. . .  172 

ACID   OPEN-HEARTH. 

X-A    Elimination  of  metalloids  in  an  open-hearth  charge 181 

X-B     History  of  metal  and  slag  in  an  acid  furnace 182 

X-C     Reduction  of  ore 183 

X-D    Slag  and  metal  at  different  periods 184 

BASIC  OPEN-HEARTH. 

XI-A    Composition  of  slag  and  metal  from  seventeen  heats 193 

XI-B     Elimination  of  phosphorus  and  carbon  during  melting 194 

XI-C     Relative  value  of  limes  with  3.0  and  7.0  per  cent,  of  SiOa.  . .  195 

XI-D    Relation  between  SiOa  and  FeO  in  basic  slags 198 

XI-E    Maxima  and  minima  in  the  heats  composing  Table  XI-D  .  198 

•XI-F     Unstable  basic  open-hearth  slags 200 

XI-G     Normal  basic  open-hearth  slags 200 

XI-H    Basic  open-hearth  slags  after  melting 201 

XI-I      Basic  open-hearth  slags  before  recarburizer 202 

XI- J     Elimination  of  sulphur  by  calcium  chloride 203 

XI-K    Data  on  the  use  of  calcium  chloride 203 

XI-L     Slag  analyses  of'  twenty-seven  basic  heats 205 

CONSIDERATION    OP    CERTAIN    SPECIAL    METHODS    AND    SOME    ITEMS 
AFFECTING  THE  COST  OF  MANUFACTURE. 

XII-A     Composition  of  metal  and  slag  in  making  transfer  steel. .  209 

XII-B     Comparison  of  data  in  Tables  X-B  and  XII-A 210 

XII-C     Record  of  "all  pig"  basic  open-hearth  heats  at  Steelton. ..  212 

XII-D     Reactions  in  the  Talbot  process 214 

XII-E     Elimination  of  sulphur  in  the  Talbot  furnace 215 

XII-F     Representative  heats  at  Kladno 219 

XII-G     Oxygen  needed  for  a  pig-iron  charge. 225 

XII-H    Oxygen  used  in  the  Talbot  furnace 226 

XIM      Silica  in  the  Talbot  furnace. . .  227 


INDEX  TO  TABLES. 


JOX 


PAGE 

XII-J     Oxygen  in  the  Talbot  furnace 227 

XII-K     Distribution  of  the  metallic  iron  in  the  Talbot  furnace. .  229 

SEGREGATION. 

XIII-A     Extreme  segregation  in  pipe  cavity 237 

XIII-B     Composition  of  a  twenty-inch  steel  roll  cast  in  sand .  238 

XIII-C     Segregation  in  plate  ingots 238 

XIII-D     Segregation  in  large  ingots 239 

XIII-E     Plates  rolled  from  ordinary  plate  ingots 241 

XIII-P     Universal  mill  plates  rolled  from  slabs 242 

XIII-G     Annealed  bars  cut  from  plates 243 

XIII-H     Variations  in  carbon  due  to  analytical  errors 247 

XIIM      Tests  from  different  parts  of  the  same  heats 248 

XIII-J      Composition  of  rods  from  heat  10,168 250 

XIII-K     Angles  rolled  from  acid  open-hearth  steel 251 

XII I-L     Distribution  of  elements  in  high  carbon  ingot 252 

XIII-M     Distribution  of  elements  in  high  carbon  blooms 253 

XIII-N     Composition  of  the  liquid  interior  of  an  ingot 253 

XIII-O     Homogeneity  of  acid  open-hearth  nickel  steel 254 

XIII-P     Segregation  in  Swedish  ingots 255 

HOT  WORKING. 

XIV-A      Results  on  different  thicknesses  of  steel  plates 259 

XIV-B      Results  on  plates  from  different  sized  ingots 259 

XIV-C      Influence  of  thickness,  the  reduction   in   rolling  being 

constant  261 

XIV-D      Influence  of  thickness,  all  pieces  being  rolled  from  billets 

of  one  size 262 

XIV-E      Effect  of  hammering  acid  open-hearth  steel 262 

XIV-F      Physical  properties  of  thick  and  thin  angles 264 

XIV-G      Comparison  of  angles  and  preliminary  test 265 

XIV-H     Physical  properties  of  steel  angles 266 

XIV-I       Effect  of  flats  finished  at  different  temperatures 268 

XIV-J       Comparison  of  hand  rounds  and  guide  rounds 268 

XIV-K     Changes  caused  by  variations  in  the  methods  of  rolling; 

classified  by  preliminary  test 269 

XIV-L      Changes  caused  by  variations  in  the  methods  of  rolling; 

classified  by  finished  plate 270 

XIV-M     Comparison  of  angles  and  sheared  plates 271 

HEAT  TREATMENT. 

XV-A      Effect  of  annealing  on  rounds  and  flats 275 

XV-B      Comparison  of  the  Bessemer  bars  in  Table  XV-A 276 

XV-C      Comparison  of  the  open-hearth  bars  in  Table  XV-A 277 

XV-D      Effect  of  annealing  acid  open-hearth  rolled  steel  bars 278 

XV-E      Effect  of  annealing  bars  of  different  thickness,  the  percent- 
age of  reduction  in  rolling  being  constant 279- 


XX  INDEX  TO  TABLES. 

PACK 

XV-F     Effect  of  annealing  bars  of  different  thickness,  all  pieces 

being  rolled  from  billets  of  one  size 280 

XV-G      Rolled  plates  made  alike  by  annealing 281 

XV-H     Comparative  tests  of  eye-bar  steel 282 

XV-I       Comparison  of  natural  and  annealed  flat  bars 283 

XV-J      Effect  of  annealing  at  about  800°  C 284 

XV-K     Comparison  of  natural  and  annealed  bars  in  Table  XV-J. .  285 

XV-L      Theoretical  microstructure  of  carbon  steels 300 

XV-M     Microstructural  composition  of  quenched  carbon  steels. . . .  300 

HISTOKY  OF  TEST-PIECE. 

XVI-A  Comparison  of  three-quarters-inch  rolled  rounds  and 
seven-eighths-inch  rounds  turned  down  to  three-quar- 
ters inch 313 

XVI-B      Properties  of  test-pieces  cut  from  forged  rounds 314 

XVI-C      Properties  of  test-pieces  cut  from  rolled  flats 315 

XVI-D      Comparison  of  eye-bar  flats  with  the  preliminary  test. . .  316 

XVI-E      Comparison  of  longitudinal  and  transverse  tests 316 

XVI-F      Comparison  of  parallel  and  grooved  tests 317 

XVI-G  Ultimate  strength  of  two-inch  tests  and  eight-inch  paral- 
lel sided  tests 317 

XVI-H      Comparison  of  angles  with  the  preliminary  test 318 

XVI-I       Comparative  physical  properties  of  rounds  and  flats 320 

XVI-J       Properties  of  round  and  flat  bars,  natural  and  annealed.  .  321 

XVI-K      Physical  properties  of  rounds  of  different  diameters 323 

XVI-L      Effect  of  changes  in  the  width  of  the  test-piece 324 

XVI-M     Influence  of  the  width  upon  the  elongation  (Barba) 326 

XVI-N      Effect  of  width  upon  the  elongation  (Custer) 326 

XVI-O      Influence  of  the  length  of  the  test-piece 327 

XVI-P      Influence  of  the  length  upon  the  elongation  (Barba) ....  329 

XVI-Q      Physical  properties  of  eye-bars 331 

XVI-R      Physical  properties  of  eye-bars t 332 

XVI-S      Properties  of  eye-bars,  classified  according  to  length.    . . .  333 
XVI-T       Proportion  of  rejections  caused  by  applying  a  sliding 
scale  of  elongation   to  the  eye-bar   records   in   Table 

XVI-Q   335 

XVI-U      Physical  changes  in  steel  by  rest  after  rolling 336 

XVI-V      Physical  properties  determined  by  different  laboratories.  338 
XVI-W     Parallel  determinations  of  the  elastic  limit  by  the  auto- 
graphic device  and  by  the  drop  of  the  beam 340 

XVI-X      Effect  of  the  pulling  speed  of  testing  machine 341 

INFLUENCE  OF  ELEMENTS. 

XVII-A    Properties  of  silicon   steels 345 

XVII-B    Influence  of  silicon  upon  tensile  strength 346 


INDEX  TO  TABLES. 


PAGE 


XVII-C     Steels  containing  from  .01  to  .50  per  cent,  of  silicon  ____  347 

XVII-D    Comparison  of  low-silicon  and  high-silicon  steels  .......  348 

XVII-B    Effect  of  manganese  ...................................  352 

XVII-F    Properties  of  steel  with  1.00  per  cent,  of  manganese.  .  .  .  353 

XVI  I-G    Properties  of  forged  steel  with  high  manganese  .........  354 

XVII-H    Effect  of  phosphorus  ...................  .  ...............  357 

XVIM     Effect  of  copper  .......................................  360 

XVI  I-  J     Physical  properties  of  aluminum  steel  ..................  361 

XVII-K    Effect  of  aluminum  ....................................  363 

XVII-L    Physical  qualities  of  nickel  steel  .....................  365 

XVII-M    Data  on  very  soft  basic  steel  ..........................  367 

XVII-N    Groups  used  to  find  effect  of  carbon,  phosphorus  and 

manganese  ..........................................  371 

XVII-O    Combination  of  data  in  Table  XVII-N  by  groups  of  three.  372 

XVII-P    Classification  of  acid  heats  according  to  phosphorus  ----  374 

XVI  I-Q    Classification  of  acid  heats  according  to  manganese  .....  377 

XVII-R    Effect  of  manganese  upon  acid  steel  .....................  378 

XVII-S     Classification  of  acid  heats  according  to  sulphur  .......  379 

XVII-T    Effect  of  carbon  upon  acid  steel  ..............    .  ........  380 

XVI  I-U    Classification  of  basic  steel  according  to  manganese  .....  381 

XVII-V    Effect  of  manganese  upon  basic  steel  ...................  381 

XVI  I-W  Classification  of  basic  steel  according  to  sulphur  ........  384 

XVII-X    Effect  of  carbon  upon  basic  steel  .......................  385 

XVII-Y    Comparison  of  actual  and  calculated  strengths  .........  387 

XVI  I-Z     Subdivision  of  groups  in  Table  XVII-Y  .................  390 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  STEEL. 

XVIII-A    Rise  in  elastic  ratio  with  fall  in  ultimate  strength  ......  397 

XVIII-B    Calculation  of  12  ,/f    for  different  diameters  ..........  400 

WELDING. 

XIX-  A   Tests  on  welded  bars  of  steel  and  wrought-iron  ...........  404 

XIX-B    Welding  tests  by  The  Royal  Prussian  Testing  Institute.  .  .  406 

CASTINGS. 

XX-A     Comparison  of  castings  and  rolled  bars  ..................  416 

XX-B      Properties  of  castings  of  medium  hard  steel  .............  417 

AMERICAN  VS.  EUROPEAN  PRACTICE. 

XXI-A   Miles  of  railway  in  operation  in  1902  ...................  423 

UNITED  STATES. 

XXII-A    Production  of  pig-iron  and  steel  in  1901  ................  442 

XXII-B    Production  of  steel  from  1867..  444 


XX11 


INDEX  TO  TABLES. 


PAGE 

XXII-O    Production   of   steel   in   the   United    States    and    Great 

Britain 445 

XXI I-D    Kinds   of  steel   made  in  the  United   States  and   Great 

Britain  445 

XXII-E    Imports  of  iron  ore 447 

XXII-P    Production  of  coal  and  coke  in  1902 453 

XXII-G    Output  of  the  principal  coal  fields  in  1902 454 

XXII-H   Output  of  soft  coal  in  Pennsylvania  in  1902 454 

XXII-I     Coke  records  for  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  in  1903  455 

XXII-J    American  ore  supply 457 

XXII-K   Large  producers  of  ore  in  Lake  Superior  district 459 

XXII-L    Price  of  Lake  Superior  ore 461 

XXII-M  Movement  of  Lake  ore 463 

XXII-N    Output  of  pig-iron  and  steel  in  Pennsylvania  in  1903...  469 

XXII-O    Large  works  in  the  Pittsburg  district 472 

XXII-P    Number  of  steel  units  in  the  Pittsburg  district 473 

XXII-Q    Output  of  pig-iron  in  Alabama 481 

XXII-R    Output  of  ore  in  Cuba 488 

XXII-S   Plants  in  Southeastern  Pennsylvania 494 

XXII-T    Plants  in  New  Jersey,  New  York  and  New  England 495 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 

XXIII-A    Imports  of  iron  ore 497 

XXIII-B    Output  of  coal,  ore,  iron  and  steel 498 

XXIII-C    Output  of  pig-iron 499 

XXIII-D    Production  of  iron  ore 500 

XXIII-E    Imports  of  iron  ore  at  different  ports 500 

XXII I-F    Iron  and  steel  plants  on  the  Northeast  Coast 509 

XXIII-G    Output  of  ore  and  pig-iron  on  the  Northeast  Coast 511 

XXIII-H    Imports  of  ore  on  the  Northeast  Coast 511 

XXIIM     Production  of  pig-iron  in  Scotland 512 

XXIII-J     Iron  and  steel  plants  in  Scotland 513 

XXIII-K    Production  of  ore  and  pig-iron  in  Scotland. 514 

XXIII-L    Imports  of  ore  into  Scotland 514 

XXIII-M    Iron  and  steel  plants  in  South  Wales 516 

XXIII-N    Production  of  pig-iron  on  the  Bristol  Channel 517 

XXIII-O    Imports  of  ore  on  the  Bristol  Channel 517 

XXIII-P    Iron  and  steel  plants  on  the  West  Coast 519 

XXIII-Q    Production  of  ore  and  pig-iron  on  the  West  Coast 519 

XXIII-R    Imports  of  ore  on  the  West  Coast 520 

XXIII-S    Iron  and  steel  plants  in  South  Yorkshire 520 

XXIII-T    Production  of  pig-iron  in  South  Yorkshire 521 

XXIII-U    Production  of  ore  and  pig-iron  in  Staffordshire 522 

XXIII-V    Production  of  ore  and*  pig-iron  in  Eastern  Central  Eng- 
land    523 

XXIII-W  Production  of  pig-iron  in  Central  England 524 


INDEX  TO  TABLES. 


XXiil 


GERMANY. 


PAGE 


XXIV-A     Production  of  ore  and  pig  iron 52b 

XXIV-B     Movement  of  ore 527 

XXIV-C     Production  of  steel 537 

XXIV-D     Composition  of  minette  ores 529 

XXI V-E     List  of  works  in  Lothringen  and  Luxemburg 536 

XXIV-F     Production  of  coke  in  Germany 538 

XXIV-G     List  of  works  in  Westphalia 543 

XXIV-H    List  of  works  in  Silesia .'.  545 

XXIV-I      List  of  works  in  Saar  District 548 

XXIV-J     Composition  of  Ilsede  ores 549 

FRANCE. 

XXV-A    Production  of  fuel,  ore,  iron  and  steel  in  France  in  1899 .  555 

XXV-B     List  of  works  in  the  East  of  France 558 

XXV-C     List  of  works  in  the  North  of  France 559 

XXV-D     List  of  works  in  the  Centre  of  France 560 

XXV-E     List  of  works  in  the  South  of  France 561 

XXV-F    List  of  works  in  the  Northwest  and  Southwest  of  France.  562 

RUSSIA. 

XXVT-A     Imports  of  iron,  steel  and  fuel 564 

XXVI-B     Production  of  coal,  ore,  iron  and  steel 566 

XXVI-C     List  of  works  in  South  Russia 570 

XXVI-D     Imports  o2  iron  and  fuel  at  St.  Petersburg 575 

AUSTRIA. 

XXVII-A      Annual  output  of  fuel,  ore,  pig  iron  and  steel  in  Aus- 
tria-Hungary     576 

XXVII-B     Production  of  steel  in  Austria 578 

XXVII-C     List  of  works  in  Bohemia 580 

XXVII-D     Output  of  the  Silesian  coal  fields 580 

XXVII-E     List  of  works  in  Moravia  and  Silesia 582 

XXVII-F     List  of  works  in  Styria 584 

XXVII-G     Production  of  coal,  ore  and  pig-iron  in  Hungary  in  1899  585 

XXVII-H     Production  of  steel  in  Hungary 586 

BELGIUM. 

XXVIII-A  Production  of  coal,  coke,  iron  and  steel  in  Belgium. . .  588 

XXVII I-B   Important  blast  furnace  plants  in  Belgium 689 

SWEDEN. 

XXIX-A      Production  of  coal,  ore,  iron  and  steel  in  Sweden 593 

XXIX-B       List  of  works  in  Sweden..  600 


INDEX  TO  TABLES. 


SPAIN.  PAGE 

XXX-A        Spanish  ore  production  and  exports  ..................  603 

ITALY. 

XXXI-A      Exports  of  ore  from  Elba  in  1899  ....................  606 

CANADA. 

XXXII-A     Composition  of  fuel  and  ore  at  Cape  Breton  ...........  608 

THE   IRON   INDUSTRY. 

XXXIII-A    Discordant  data  in  steel  output  in  Germany  ........  610 

XXXI  I  I-B     Production  of  pig-iron  per  capita  ...................  611 

XXXIII-C     Pig-iron  producing  districts  of  the  world  ............  613 

XXXIII-D     Steel  producing  districts  of  the  world  ..............  614 

XXXIII-E     Production  of  coal,  ore,  pig-iron  and  steel  in  1903  ----  615 

XXXIII-P     Production  of  coal.  by  the  leading  nations  ............  615 

XXXIII-G    Production  of  iron"  ore  by  the  leading  nations  .......  616 

XXX1II-H    Production  of  pig-iron  by  the  leading  nations  ........  616 

XXXIIM      Production  of  steel  by  the  leading  nations  ...........  617 


INDEX    TO    FIGURES 

PAGE 

II-A  Blast  furnace  at  Jones  &  Laughlin's,  Pittsburg 38 

II-B  Bosh  construction  at  Steelton,  Pa 39 

II-C  Blast  furnace  reactions  as  determined  by  the  temperature  54 

II-D  Chemical  reactions  in  blast  furnace 62 

VI-A  Section  of  18-ton  converter,  two  views 101 

VIII-A  Bad  type  of  open-hearth  furnace 124 

VIII-B  40-ton  acid  furnace  at  Steelton,  Pa.,  two  views 127,  128 

VIII-C  50-ton   Campbell  basic   furnace   at   Steelton,   Pa.,   three 

views 129-133 

VIII-D  30-ton  basic  furnace  at  Donnawitz,  Austria,  six  views  .134-139 

VIII-E  50-ton  basic  furnace  at  Duquesne,  Pa.,  two  views 140 

VIII-F  50-ton  basic  furnace  at  Sharon,  Pa.,  two  views  140 

VIII-G  Wellman  charging  machine,  two  views 143 

VIII-H  Valves  used  at  Steelton,  two  views 145,  146 

VIII-I  Forter  valve 147 

IX-A  Water  seal  producer,  two  views 161 

IX-B  Semet  Solvay  coke  oven,  two  views 176 

IX-C  Otto  Hoffman  coke  oven 177 

XV-A  Variations  in  the  critical  points  in  different  steels 288 

XV-B  Micro-photographs  Nos.  1  to  9 290 

XV-C  Micro-photographs  Nos.  10  to  18 291 

XV-D  Micro-photographs  Nos.  19  to  24 292 

XV-E  Micro-photographs  Nos.  25  to  30 293 

XV-F  Micro-photographs  Nos.  31  to  36 294 

XV-G  Micro-photographs  Nos.  37  to  45 295 

XV-H  Graphical  representation  of  the  phase  doctrine 312 

XVI-A  Elongation  with  varying  length 328 

XVI-B  Curves  showing  law  of  elongation  of  eye-bars 334 

XVII-A  Strength  of  steel 370 

XVII-B  Effect  of  phosphorus  on  acid  steel 373 

XVII-C  Effect  of  manganese  on  acid  steel 376 

XVII-D  Effect  of  sulphur  on  acid  steel 379 

XVII-E  Effect  of  manganese  on  basic  steel 382 

XVII-F  Effect  of  sulphur  on  basic  steel 384 

XVII-G  Effect  of  carbon  on  acid  and  basic  steel 383 


XXVI 


INDEX  TO  FIGURES. 


PAGE 

XXII-A    Map  of  United  States,  eastern  half 449 

XXI I-A    Map  of  United  States,  western  half 448 

XXII-B    Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Ohio,  etc.,  eastern  half. . .  451 

XXII-B    Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Ohio,  etc.,  western  half...  452 

XXII-C    Map  of  lake  region 464 

XXII-D    Mesabi,  Vermilion  and  Gogebic  ranges 465 

XXII-E    Marquette  and  Menominee  ranges 466 

XXII-F    Map  of  Allegheny  County,  Pa 467 

XXII-G    Bessemer  plant  at  Edgar  Thomson 474 

XXII-H   Bessemer  plant  at  South  Chicago 475 

XXIM     Rail  mill  at  South  Chicago 476 

XXII-J    Birmingham  ore  deposit 480 

XXII-K   Bessemer  plant  at  Steelton 486 

XXII-L    Open-hearth  plant  at  Steelton 487 

XXII-M   Rail  mill  at  Sparrow's  Point 490 

XXIII-A    Map  of  Great  Britain 501 

XXIII-B    Coal  fields  of  Great  Britain 502 

XXIII-C    Durham  coal  field 503 

XXIII-D    Cleveland  ore  deposit 504 

XXIII-E    Rolling  mill  of  Northeastern  Steel  Company 510 

XXIII-F    Works  at  Cardiff 515 

XXIV-A     Map  of  Germany 526 

XXIV-B     Minette  district 528 

XXIV-C     Rombach  Steel  Works 535 

XXV-A      Map  of  France 554 

XXV-B       Coal  and  ore  fields  of  France 556 

XXVI-A     Map  of  Russia 565 

XXVI-B     South  Russian  iron  district 568 

XXVII-A       Map  of  Austria 577 

XXVIII-A     Map  of  Belgium 590 

XXIX-A        Map  of  Sweden 594 

XXIX-B        Swedish  blast  furnace 596 

XXX-A          Map  of  Spain 602 

XXXIII-A     Production  of  coal  in  the  leading  nations 619 

XXXIII-B     Production  of  ore  in  the  leading  nations 620 

XXXIII-C     Production  of  pig-iron  in  the  leading  nations 621 

XXXIII-D     Production  of  steel  in  the  leading  nations 622 


PART  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 
The  Main  Principles  of  Iron  Metallurgy. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  MAKING  OF  PIG-IKON. 

The  process  of  making  steel  begins  by  making  pig-iron  from 
iron  ore.  This  iron  ore  is  natural  iron  rust.  It  is  a  combination 
of  iron  and  oxygen,  and  if  we  take  away  the  oxygen  the  iron  is 
left  alone.  Charcoal  or  coke  or  carbon  in  any  form  will  rob  iron 
ore  of  its  oxygen,  and  it  will  do  this  at  a  very  moderate  tempera- 
ture, the  action  taking  place  if  the  ore  and  coke  are  mixed  and 
heated  red  hot.  But  it  is  necessary  to  do  more  than  this.  The 
iron  must  be  melted  and  the  earthy  parts  of  the  ore  and  coke  must 
be  separated  from  the  iron.  The  operation  is  conducted  in  a  fur- 
nace about  one  hundred  feet  high,  filled  with  a  mixture  of  coke, 
iron  ore  and  limestone,  and  superheated  air  is  blown  in  at  the  bot- 
tom. A  portion  of  the  coke  is  burned  by  the  oxygen  of  the  air  and 
serves  to  maintain  the  furnace  at  a  high  temperature,  while  another 
portion  is  employed  in  robbing  the  iron  ore  of  its  oxygen. 

The  air  that  is  blown  into  the  furnace  is  first  heated  to  a  dull 
red  heat  by  passing  it  through  "stoves."  These  stoves  are  in  turn 
heated  by  burning  in  them  the  gases  escaping  from  the  top  of  the 
furnace.  In  ancient  days  these  gases  were  allowed  to  escape  freely, 
but  now  the  tops  are  closed  tight  and  all  the  gas  is  taken  down  to 
the  level  of  the  ground,  part  being  used  under  boilers  to  generate 
steam  to  run  the  blowing  engines,  and  part  in  the  stoves  to  preheat 
the  blast. 

As  the  air  is  red  hot  when  it  enters  the  tuyeres,  and  as  it  imme- 
diately meets  glowing  coke  which  has  been  heated  by  its  downward 
passage  through  the  furnace,  it  follows  that  a  very  high  tempera- 
ture must  be  caused  at  this  point.  This  region,  therefore,  imme- 
diately about  the  tuyeres  is  called  the  "zone  of  fusion."  It  is  here 
that  the  real  melting  occurs,  but  a  great  deal  of  the  work  is  done 
higher  up  in  the  furnace,  for  the  gases  from  this  hot  zone  of  fusion 
ascend  through  the  overlying  70  or  80  feet  of  stock  and  heat  it  to 
a  high  temperature,  and  under  these  conditions  there  is  a  reaction 

3 


4V    '-'.If -I  >*  \.t  V  t  v.t  ^  '.INTRODUCTION. 

between  the  carbon  of  the  gas  and  the  iron  ore,  whereby  the  oxygen 
of  the  ore  unites  with  the  carbon  and  leaves  the  iron  in  the  finely 
divided  metallic  state  known  as  "spongy  iron."  The  reaction  is  not 
complete  and  a  great  deal  of  ore  reaches  the  zone  of  fusion  in  a 
nearly  raw  state,  but  in  this  zone  the  extremely  high  temperature 
quickly  completes  all  reactions ;  the  raw  ore  is  rapidly  reduced,  the 
earthy  impurities  unite  with  the  limestone  and  are  fused  into  slag, 
while  the  metallic  iron  melts  and  is  collected  in  the  hearth  below 
the  tuyeres. 

The  metal  so  produced  is  not  pure  iron,  for  while  it  is  in  contact 
with  white-hot  coke  in  the  furnace,  it  absorbs  a  certain  amount  of 
carbon.  This  amount  is  quite  constant,  and  it  is  safe  to  assume 
that  any  piece  of  ordinary  pig-iron,  no  matter  what  its  appearance 
may  be,  contains  from  3.5  to  4.0  per  cent,  of  carbon.  Some  of  this 
carbon  is  chemically  combined  with  the  iron,  and  some  is  held  in 
suspension  as  graphite.  If  a  large  proportion  is  combined,  the 
fracture  of  the  iron  looks  white  and  the  metal  is  hard  and  brittle. 
If  a  large  proportion  is  in  the  free  state,  the  fracture  will  be  gray 
or  black,  with  loose  scales  of  graphite,  and  the  iron  is  soft  and 
tough.  Very  slow  cooling  tends  to  put  the  carbon  into  the  con- 
dition of  graphite,  while  sudden  chilling  from  the  liquid  state 
tends  to  keep  it  in  combination  and  give  a  hard  and  white  iron. 

The  iron  also  contains  silicon,  which  is  absorbed  in  the  furnace 
from  the  ash  of  the  coke.  Sometimes  this  silicon  will  amount  to 
only  one-half  of  1  per  cent,  and  sometimes  it  will  be  3  per  cent. 
Usually  there  will  be  from  1  to  2  per  cent. 

A  certain  small  proportion  of  sulphur  will  also  be  present.  It  is 
not  wanted  at  all,  but  there  is  seldom  less  than  two-hundredths  of 
one  per  cent.,  while  there  may  be  one-quarter  of  one  per  cent.,  and 
even  more.  When  there  is  over  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  the  iron 
is  apt  to  be  hard  and  brittle  and  to  have  a  close  and  white  fracture. 
In  such  iron,  the  silicon  is  usually  low  and  this  contributes  to  the 
closeness  of  the  grain. 

The  percentages  of  silicon  and  sulphur  that  are  present  in  the 
iron  depend  in  great  measure  upon  the  conditions  in  the  blast  fur- 
nace, and  hence  may  be  controlled  by  the  furnaceman.  But  there 
is  one  element  which  is  universally  present,  over  which  he  has  no 
control.  This  element  is  phosphorus.  Whatever  quantity  is  pres- 
ent in  the  ore  and  fuel  will  be  found  in  the  pig-iron,  so  that  the 
only  way  to  get  an  iron  low  in  phosphorus  is  to  get  ore  and  coke 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

which  contain  only  a  small  percentage.  In  irons  used  for  making 
steel  by  the  usual  Bessemer  process,  the  iron  is  not  allowed  to  con- 
tain over  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  phosphorus.  For  basic  steel 
and  for  foundry  work  no  fixed  limit  can  be  given. 

Where  great  toughness  is  required  in  iron  castings  it  is  well 
to  use  what  is  called  "Bessemer  pig-iron,"  by  which  term  is  meant 
an  iron  containing  not  over  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phorus. Such  an  iron  costs  very  little  more  than  ordinary  foundry 
grades.  In  other  cases  a  high  percentage  is  desired  to  confer'  great 
fluidity,  and  irons  carrying  3  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  are  in  demand, 
a  certain  proportion  of  such  metal  being  used  in  making  intricate 
castings  where  the  metal  must  accurately  fill  every  corner  of  the 
mold. 

Pure  iron  itself  is  very  difficult  to  melt;  it  is  soft,  tough  and 
malleable  both  hot  and  cold,  but  the  elements  above  described, 
preeminently  the  presence  of  nearly  4  per  cent,  of  carbon,  change 
its  character  completely  in  the  following  ways : 

(1)  It  is  more  fusible. 

(2)  It  is  brittle. 

(3)  It  cannot  be  forged  either  hot  or  cold. 

Thus  we  have  what  the  general  public  calls  cast-iron.  In  the 
trade,  however,  this  term  is  applied  to  it  only  after  it  has  been 
melted  again  and  cast  into  some  finished  form.  The  product  of 
the  blast-furnace  is  always  spoken  of  as  pig-iron.  It  is  the  founda- 
tion stone  of  all  the  iron  industry ;  it  is  one  of  the  great  staples  in 
the  commerce  of  the  world.  The  foundryman  makes  from  it  his 
kettles  and  stoves;  the  puddler  refines  it  and  supplies  the  village 
blacksmith  with  bars  for  chains  and  horseshoes;  the  steel  maker 
transmutes  it  into  watch-springs  and  cannon. 

THE  MAKING  OF  WKOUGHT-IRON. 

When  the  Bessemer  process  of  steel  making  was  invented  it  was 
confidently  predicted  that  it  sounded  the  death-knell  of  the 
puddling  furnace,  but  although  there  have  been  several  announce- 
ments of  the  funeral,  the  great  event  has  never  actually  occurred. 
There  seem  to  be  a  few  places  where  wrought-iron  is  needed,  and 
there  are  many  more  places  where  the  blacksmith  and  the  machinist 
find  steel  unsatisfactory,  because  they  do  not  know  anything  about 
the  metal  and  refuse  to  learn,  usually  stating  that  they  have  been 
"working  long  enough  to  know." 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

Wrought-iron  is  made  by  melting  pig-iron  in  contact  with  iron 
ore  and  burning  out  the  silicon,  carbon  and  phosphorus,  leaving 
metallic  iron.  This  iron  is  not  in  a  melted  state  when  finished,  for 
the  temperature  of  the  furnace  is  not  sufficiently  high  to  keep  it 
fluid  after  the  carbon  has  burned.  It  is  in  a  pasty  condition  and 
is  mixed  with  slag  and  when  taken  out  of  the  furnace  is  a  honey- 
comb of  iron,  with  each  cell  full  of  melted  lava,  and  this  honey- 
comb is  squeezed  and  rolled  until  most  of  the  slag  is  worked  out  and 
the  iron  framework  is  welded  together  into  a  compact  mass.  The 
bars  are  rough  and  full  of  flaws  and  are  regarded  as  an  intermedi- 
ate product.  This  "muck  bar"  is  then  cut  up  and  "piled"  and 
heated  to  a  welding  heat  and  rolled  again,  and  this  time  the  bar  is 
clean  and  becomes  the  "merchant  iron"  of  commerce. 

The  previous  description  refers  to  the  use  of  pig-iron  only,  but 
in  many  works  this  practice  is  modified  by  using  scrap  of  various 
kinds,  especially  steel  turnings  from  machine  shops.  Oftentimes 
almost  the  entire  charge  is  made  of  cast-iron  borings  and  steel 
turnings,  although  a  certain  amount  of  larger  steel  scrap  is  gener- 
ally used  to  make  the  ball  hold  together.  In  making  the  pile  for 
the  second  rolling  a  certain  proportion  of  soft  steel  scrap  is  often 
used,  as  this  welds  up  with  the  rest,  so  as  to  be  practically  the  same, 
and  this  increases  the  tensile  strength  of  the  bar.  The  main 
principles  of  the  process,  however,  remain  the  same  in  all  its  forms. 

A  DEFINITION  OF  STEEL. 

In  the  olden  time  all  kinds  of  steel,  whether  made  in  the  crucible, 
in  the  cementation  chamber,  or  in  the  puddle  furnace,  contained 
carbon  enough  to  make  them  suitable  for  cutting  tools  when  hard- 
ened in  water,  and  the  steels  that  were  made  in  the  Bessemer  con- 
verter during  the  early  days  of  its  history  were  all  more  or  less 
hard,  much  of  it  being  used  for  tools ;  consequently  the  metal  made 
in  the  converter  was  rightly  called  Bessemer  steel. 

As  time  went  on  and  the  cost  of  the  operation  was  reduced  below 
that  of  making  wrought-iron,  a  great  deal  of  very  soft  metal  was 
made  in  the  converter  and  in  the  open-hearth  furnace.  This  new 
metal  did  not  fill  the  old  definition  of  steel,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
draw  any  line  between  the  steel  used  for  rails  and  that  used  for 
forgings,  and  it  was  impossible  to  draw  a  line  between  the  metal 
used  for  forgings  and  that  used  for  boiler  plate,  and  as  it  was 
impossible  to  do  this,  practical  men  in  America  and  England  did 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

not  try  to  do  it,  but  called  everything  that  was  made  in  the 
Bessemer  converter,  or  in  the  open-hearth  furnace,  or  in  the 
crucible,  by  the  name  "steel/' 

A  few  scientific  committees  tried  to  make  new  names,  but  their 
labors  came  to  naught  in  England  and  America.  In  Germany  the 
committees  had  their  way  for  many  years,  and  the  soft  metals  of 
the  converter  and  the  open-hearth  were  called  ingot-iron.  This 
term  still  survives  in  metallurgical  literature,  but  in  the  German 
works  where  the  metal  is  made,  it  is  called  steel,  and  the  plant  itself 
is  called  a  stahl  werke  (steel  works),  so  that  we  have  the  peculiar 
anomaly  of  a  steel  works  making  what  is  called  steel  by  the  work- 
men, while  the  official  reports  declare  that  it  makes  no  steel  at  all. 
It  seems  inevitable  that  Germany  must  soon  give  up  this  outgrown 
system. 

The  current  usage  in  our  country  and  in  England  in  regard  to 
wrought-iron  and  steel  may  be  summarized  in  the  following  defini- 
tions : 

(1)  By  the  term   wrought-iron  is  meant  the  product  of  the 
puddling  furnace  or  the  sinking  fire. 

(2)  By  the  term  steel  is  meant  the  product  of  the  cementation 
process,  or  the  malleable  compounds  of  iron  made  in  the  crucible, 
the  converter  or  the  open-hearth  furnace. 

THE  MAKING  OF  CRUCIBLE  STEEL. 

Most  of  the  hard  steel  in  the  market  to-day  is  made  in  the  open- 
hearth  furnace.  Enormous  quantities  are  used  for  car  springs  and 
agricultural  machinery,  and  both  the  acid  and  basic  furnaces  fur- 
nish a  share.  There  are  some  purposes,  however,  which  call  for  a 
steel  entirely  free  from  the  minute  imperfections  often  present  in 
open-hearth  metal.  Such  is  the  case  in  watch-springs,  needles  and 
razors;  and  it  is  found  that  the  old  crucible  process  gives  in  the 
long  run  the  most  satisfactory  metal  for  such  work. 

This  process  consists  in  putting  into  a  crucible  a  proper  mixture 
of  scrap,  pig-iron,  or  charcoal  and  heating  it  until  everything  is 
thoroughly  melted,  the  crucible  being  kept  tightly  closed  to  prevent 
the  admittance  of  air.  This  process  is  a  century  old,  but  bids  fair 
to  round  out  another  with  little  change. 

THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS. 

The  Bessemer  process  consists  in  blowing  cold  air  through  liquid 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

pig-iron.  Sometimes  the  pig-iron  is  brought  directly  from  the 
blast-furnace  while  fluid,  and  sometimes  it  is  remelted  in  cupolas. 
In  the  early  plants  in  England  and  America  the  lining  of  the  vessel 
which  held  the  iron  was  of  ordinary  silicious  rock  and  clay,  and  this 
is  still  the  universal  practice  in  America.  In  other  countries  it  has 
been  necessary  to  develop  a  modification  of  the  process,  the  linings 
being  made  of  basic  material,  whereby  the  chemistry  of  the  opera- 
tion is  greatly  changed. 

The  growth  of  the  basic  Bessemer  practice  made  it  necessary  to 
have  a  distinguishing  name  for  the  old  way,  and  it  is  therefore 
called  the  acid  process,  the  word  being  used  in  a  chemical  sense 
rather  difficult  to  explain  to  any  one  not  versed  in  chemistry. 

In  the  acid  process,  the  air  passing  through  the  iron  burns  the 
silicon  and  carbon,  while  the  heat  caused  by  their  combustion  fur- 
nishes sufficient  heat  to  not  only  sustain  the  bath  in  a  liquid  state, 
but  to  increase  its  temperature,  and  to  oftentimes  necessitate  the 
addition  of  scrap  or  steam  as  a  cooling  agent. 

This  increase  in  temperature  is  due  principally  to  the  silicon, 
which  is  of  great  calorific  power,  while  the  burning  of  the  carbon 
gives  barely  sufficient  heat  for  the  bath  to  hold  its  own.  It  is 
necessary,  therefore,  that  the  iron  contain  sufficient  silicon  to  raise 
the  temperature  to  the  point  where  steel  will  remain  perfectly  fluid. 
In  the  old  days  when  operations  in  a  steel  works  were  slow  and 
converters  were  allowed  to  cool  off  between  charges,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  pig-iron  to  have  about  2  per  cent,  of  silicon  to  get 
sufficient  heat,  but  with  the  rapid  methods  of  to-day,  it  is  found 
that  1  per  cent,  is  enough. 

When  the  silicon  and  carbon  are  all  burned,  a  certain  amount  of 
manganese  is  added  in  order  that  the  steel  shall  be  tough  while  hot, 
and  be  able  to  stand  the  distortions  it  is  subjected  to  in  the  rolling 
mills.  If  soft  steel  is  wanted,  this  manganese  is  obtained  by  using 
a  rich  alloy  called  ferromanganese,  containing  80  per  cent,  of  man- 
ganese, while  if  rail  steel  is  being  made,  the  usual  method  is  to 
make  a  liquid  addition  of  spiegel  iron — a  pig-iron  containing  about 
12  per  cent,  of  manganese. 

For  every  ten  tons  of  steel  about  one  ton  of  this  spiegel  will  be 
added,  and  this  at  the  same  time  gives  enough  manganese  to  make 
it  roll  well,  and  enough  carbon  to  confer  the  necessary  hardness. 
When  the  rich  alloy  is  used  to  make  soft  steel,  as  before  explained, 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

tne  amount  added  is  very  small  and  the  carbon  thus  carried  into  the 
bath  is  trifling. 

The  resulting  steel  is  poured  into  a  ladle,  and  the  slag,  being  very 
light,  floats  on  the  top.  The  steel  is  then  tapped  from  the  bottom, 
the  separation  of  metal  and  slag  being  perfect.  Minute  cavities  of 
slag  are  often  found  in  steel,  but  these  come  from  internal  chemical 
reactions,  or  sometimes  from  dirt  in  the  mold.  They  do  not  arise 
from  mixture  of  the  metal  and  slag  when  poured  in  the  way  that  is 
almost  universally  used  in  Bessemer  and  open-hearth  works. 

In  this  acid  process  there  can  be  no  removal  of  phosphorus  or  sul- 
phur, and  as  no  steel  is  allowed  to  contain  over  one-tenth  of  one  per 
cent,  of  either,  it  is  plain  that  the  pig-iron  must  not  contain  more 
than  this  allowable  amount.  It  has  been  shown,  in  the  discussion 
of  the  manufacture  of  pig-iron,  that  the  phosphorus  in  the  ore  will 
appear  in  the  metal.  Consequently  if  the  ores  of  any  district  con- 
tain more  than  one-twentieth  of  one  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  which 
will  give  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  in  the  iron,  that  district  cannot 
possibly  use  the  acid  Bessemer  process.  If  they  do  contain  as  little 
as  this,  then  this  process  is  the  cheapest  method  of  making  steel 
that  has  ever  been  discovered  or  probably  ever  will  be. 

THE  BASIC  BESSEMER  PROCESS. 

The  basic  Bessemer  process  is  similar  to  the  acid  Bessemer,  both 
being  founded  upon  the  general  truth  that  if  cold  air  be  blown 
through  pig-iron,  the  combustion  of  the  impurities  in  the  iron  will 
furnish  sufficient  heat  to  keep  the  metal  in  a  fluid  state.  In  the 
acid  process  it  has  been  shown  that  only  two  elements  are  thus 
burned,  viz.,  silicon  and  carbon,  and  that  the  silicon  supplies  most 
of  the  heat. 

In  the  basic  process  the  lining  is  made  of  basic  material,  usually 
of  hard  burned  dolomite,  which  is  a  limestone  containing  from  30 
to  40  per  cent,  of  magnesia.  When  the  linings  are  basic,  it  is  a 
bad  thing  to  have  much  silicon  in  the  iron,  because  when  silicon  is 
oxidized  it  forms  silica  (Si02),  and  this  attacks  the  lime  lining. 
The  percentage  of  silicon  is  therefore  kept  as  low  as  possible,  and 
this  makes  it  necessary  that  some  other  source  of  heat  be  provided. 
This  is  the  more  necessary  because  more  heat  is  needed  in  the  basic 
process  than  in  the  acid,  on  account  of  the  lime  which  is  added 
in  the  converter  and  which  must  be  melted  during  the  operation. 

The  element  used  to  take  the  place  of  silicon  and  supply  heat  is 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

phosphorus.  In  the  acid  process  phosphorus  is  not  eliminated  at 
all,  but  when  the  linings  are  basic  it  is  possible  to  add  lime  and 
make  a  basic  slag  in  which  phosphorus  can  exist  as  phosphate  of 
lime  or  phosphate  of  iron.  In  the  acid  process  it  is  not  feasible  to 
add  lime,  because  the  lining  of  the  converter  would  be  eaten  away 
and  the  slag  could  not  remain  basic  enough  to  hold  the  phosphorus. 

4s  already  stated,  the  basic  Bessemer  process  requires  more  heat 
than  the  acid  process,  because  considerable  lime  must  be  added  to 
give  a  basic  slag,  and  because  the  lining  of  the  vessel  is  eaten  away 
much  faster.  It  has  also  been  explained  that  silicon  is  not  allowed 
in  the  iron  to  any  extent,  because  the  more  silicon  there  is  present, 
the  more  lime  must  be  added  to  counteract  it. 

Inasmuch  as  silicon  is  the  principal  source  of  heat  in  the  acid 
process,  and  as  still  more  heat  is  required  in  the  basic  converter 
where  silicon  is  not  allowed,  it  is  evident  that  phosphorus,  which 
replaces  silicon  as  a  heat-producing  agent,  must  be  present  in  con- 
siderable quantity.  In  the  basic  Bessemer  works  of  Germany  the 
iron  contains  about  2  per  cent,  of  this  element.  If  it  falls  much 
below  this,  the  heat  produced  is  not  sufficient  to  give  the  proper 
temperature  to  the  fluid  metal  at  the  end  of  the  blow.  In  English 
practice  it  is  considered  necessary  to  have  a  higher  proportion. 

Thus  it  happens  that  the  Bessemer  process  is  applicable  to  only 
two  kinds  of  ores : 

(1)  Those  containing  only  a  trace  of  phosphorus,  giving  an  iron 
suitable  for  the  acid  process. 

(2)  Those  containing  a  high  percentage  giving  an  iron  contain- 
ing 2  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  suitable  for  the  basic  process. 

There  are  many  deposits  of  ore  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
which  are  intermediate  between  these  classes,  and  which  give  a  pig- 
iron  ranging  from  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  up  to  one  and  one- 
half  per  cent.  These  irons  are  not  suitable  for  either  form  of  the 
Bessemer  process,  although  it  often  happens  that  an  iron  which 
contains  too  little  phosphorus  for  the  basic  vessel  can  be  used  in 
admixture  with  an  iron  that  contains  a  surplus.  When  this  is 
impracticable,  such  irons  can  be  used  for  steel  only  in  the  basic 
open-hearth  furnace. 

When  the  air  is  blown  through  the  melted  iron  in  a  basic  con- 
verter the  silicon  is  first  oxidized,  and  the  carbon  next.  Thus  far 
the  operation  is  the  same  in  .both  the  acid  and  the  basic  vessel. 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

At  that  point  the  acid  process  ceases,  but  in  the  basic  process  the 
blast  of  air  is  continued  and  the  phosphorus  is  oxidized  and  passes 
into  the  slag.  The  slag  therefore  contains  a  considerable  per- 
centage of  phosphorus  and  this  makes  it  valuable  as  a  fertilizer. 
The  demand  for  it  is  unlimited  and  the  revenue  derived  from  it  is 
a  very  important  matter  to  all  plants  using  this  process.  The  cost 
of  labor,  however,  and  the  greater  waste  and  diminished  output 
of  a  basic  Bessemer  render  this  process  out  of  the  question  except 
where  suitable  pig-iron  can  be  had  at  a  much  lower  price  than  iron 
fit  for  the  acid  process.  In  the  United  States  this  condition  does 
not  exist  and  there  is  no  plant  in  operation  in  this  country. 

The  final  operation  of  adding  spiegel  iron  or  ferromanganese  is 
conducted  in  practically  the  same  way  in  the  basic  Bessemer  vessel, 
as  has  already  been  described  in  the  account  of  the  acid  process. 

THE  OPEN-HEARTH  EURNACE. 

An  open-hearth  furnace  really  means  a  furnace  having  a  hearth 
exposed  to  the  flame,  so  that  any  piece  of  steel  or  other  material 
placed  upon  the  hearth  is  exposed  openly  to  the  action  of  the 
burning  gases.  The  term  has  been  narrowed  by  custom  to  denote 
such  a  furnace  where  steel  is  melted.  A  furnace  for  this  purpose 
must  be  regenerative  in  order  to  get  the  requisite  intense  tempera- 
ture. Regenerative  furnaces  are  also  used  very  generally  for  heat- 
ing steel  in  rolling  mills,  but  they  are  not  called  open-hearth  fur- 
naces except  when  the  steel  is  actually  melted. 

By  a  regenerative  furnace  is  meant  one  in  which  the  heat  carried 
away  in  the  stack  gases  is  used  to  warm  the  air  and  gas  before  they 
enter  the  furnace.  Strictly  speaking,  a  furnace  would  be  regen- 
erative if  air  pipes  were  put  into  the  stack  and  the  air  blast  were 
passed  through  these  pipes.  But  by  custom  the  term  means  only  a 
furnace  which  is  heated  by  gas,  and  where  both  gas  and  air  are 
heated  before  they  enter  the  furnace  by  being  passed  through 
chambers  filled  with  bricks  loosely  laid,  these  bricks  having  pre- 
viously been  heated  by  the  waste  gases.  By  having  two  sets  of 
chambers,  one  set  can  be  used  to  absorb  the  heat  in  the  waste  pro- 
ducts and  the  other  set  to  warm  the  incoming  gases.  By  proper 
systems  of  reversing  valves  these  two  sets  of  chambers  can  be  used 
alternately  for  each  purpose,  and  in  this  way  the  gas  and  air  are 
heated  to  a  yellow  heat  before  they  unite,  and  it  is  quite  evident 
that  yellow-hot  air  and  yellow-hot  gas  will  give  a  very  intense  heat. 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

The  problem  in  an  open-hearth  melting  furnace  is  not  to  reach  the 
desired  temperature,  but  to  control  the  temperature  and  prevent 
the  roof  and  walls  from  melting  down. 

THE  ACID  OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 

The  term  acid  open-hearth  furnace  means  a  regenerative  gas 
furnace  used  for  melting  steel,  and  lined  with  silicious  material 
(sand).  It  has  been  shown  that  the  Bessemer  process  can  be  con- 
ducted in  a  vessel  lined  with  silicious  material,  or  in  a  vessel  lined 
with  basic  material,  and  it  has  been  shown  that  this  difference  in 
lining  makes  a  radical  difference  in  the  process.  In  the  same  way 
the  manner  in  which  a  steel  melting  furnace  is  lined  profoundly 
influences  the  subsequent  operations.  Contrary  to  popular  belief, 
the  bottom  in  itself  plays  very  little  part  and  has  very  little  influ- 
ence, but  the  character  of  the  bottom  determines  the  character  of 
the  slag  that  can  be  carried,  and  the  character  of  the  slag  deter- 
mines the  chemistry  of  the  process. 

In  the  acid  open-hearth  process  a  mixture  of  pig-iron  and  scrap 
is  charged  into  the  furnace  and  melted.  Nothing  is  added  to  form 
a  slag,  as  the  combustion  of  the  silicon  and  manganese,  together 
with  some  iron  that  is  oxidized,  and  some  sand  from  the  bottom, 
affords  a  sufficient  supply.  The  slag  is  about  half  silica  (Si02), 
while  the  other  half  is  composed  of  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese. 
When  the  mass  is  melted  it  is  fed  with  iron  ore,  and  the  oxygen 
in  the  ore  oxidizes  the  excess  of  carbon  until  the  required  com- 
position is  attained,  whereupon  the  steel  is  tapped,  the  proper  addi- 
tions of  manganese  being  made  at  the  time  of  tapping.  Melted 
spiegel  iron,  so  generally  used  in  Bessemer  practice,  is  not  used  in 
open-hearth  work,  but  the  manganese  is  added  in  the  form  of  a 
rich  ferromanganese,  which  is  generally  thrown  into  the  ladle  as  £he 
heat  is  tapped.  Sometimes  a  spiegel  iron  is  used,  but  this  is  put 
into  the  furnace  a  little  while  before  tapping  and  allowed  to  melt. 

It  is  necessary  for  the  highest  success  of  the  operation  that  the 
slag  should  be  kept  within  certain  limits  in  regard  to  its  chemical 
composition,  for  if  it  contains  too  much  silica  it  is  thick  and 
gummy,  and  the  operation  will  be  much  retarded,  while  if  it  con- 
tains too  much  oxide  of  iron  it  will  be  sloppy  and  the  metal  will 
be  frothy  and  over-oxidized.  It  would  seem  at  first  sight  that  there 
would  be  considerable  difficulty  in  regulating  the  composition  of  a 
slag  that  is  constantly  receiving  iron  ore  and  constantly  absorbing 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

silica  from  the  bottom.  Moreover,  the  amount  of  ore  is  not  con- 
stant nor  the  rate  at  which  it  is  added,  for  on  some  heats  scarcely 
any  ore  is  thrown  in,  on  others  there  may  be  500  pounds  added  in 
three  or  four  hours,  and  on  others  there  may  be  3,000  pounds  used 
in  the  same  period  of  time. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  very  little  difficulty  in  maintaining 
a  very  regular  chemical  composition  if  moderate  judgment  be  exer- 
cised and  the  additions  of  ore  are  regulated  by  the  temperature 
of  the  furnace  and  the  condition  of  the  metal.  Many  an  open- 
hearth  melter  has  never  heard  of  silica,  and  yet  can  keep  a  constant 
percentage  of  it  in  his  slag.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  slag 
regulates  itself  to  a  great  extent.  The  pig-iron  used  in  the  charge 
always  contains  silicon  and  this  furnishes  silica.  If  the  amount  is 
not  sufficient,  there  will  be  a  cutting  away  of  the  sand  bottom  to 
supply  more.  We  thus  have  by  the  wearing  of  the  bottom  an 
inexhaustible  source  of  supply  of  silica.  In  the  same  way  we  have 
a  similar  supply  of  iron  oxide  by  the  oxidation  of  the  iron  of  the 
bath.  If  iron  ore  is  added,  this  is  the  easiest  way  for  the  slag  to 
get  the  oxide,  since  it  simply  appropriates  it  to  its  own  use.  Iron 
ore  is  a  compound  of  two  atoms  of  iron  with  three  atoms  of  oxygen, 
expressed  in  chemistry  thus — Fe203 — ,wherein  Fe  is  iron  and  0 
is  oxygen,  and  the  figures  represent  the  proportions.  If  the  slag 
contains  too  high  a  percentage  of  silica,  and  needs  more  iron  oxide, 
and  if  under  these  conditions  iron  ore  is  added,  then  only  one  of 
these  atoms  of  oxygen  goes  toward  oxidizing  the  silicon  and  carbon 
of  the  bath.  This  leaves  two  atoms  of  iron  and  two  atoms  of 
oxygen,  and  these  unite  together  to  form  two  parts  of  a  different 
oxide,  FeO,  or  since  there  are  two  atoms  of  each,  thus — 2FeO. 

The  extra  atom  of  oxygen  has  united  with  carbon  and  formed  a 
gas  in  which  one  atom  of  carbon  unites  with  one  atom  of  oxygen. 
In  chemistry  this  action  is  expressed  thus:  C+0=CO.  The 
symbol  C  stands  for  carbon,  and  0  for  oxygen,  and  when  united 
in  equal  proportions,  they  form  CO,  which  is  the  chemical  symbol 
for  carbonic  oxide. 

The  whole  operation  of  adding  iron  ore  to  an  open-hearth  bath, 
when  only  the  extra  atom  of  oxygen  is  given  to  the  carbon,  and  the 
rest  of  the  oxide  stays  with  the  slag,  may  be  expressed  by  the  fol- 
lowing simple  chemical  formula: 

Fe203+C=2FeO+CO. 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

This  concentrates  in  one  line  all  the  explanation  we  have  just  gone 
through. 

Sometimes  the  slag  has  a  sufficient  supply  of  oxide  of  iron  and 
needs  no  more.  In  this  case,  when  ore  is  added,  all  the  oxygen 
goes  to  the  carbon  of  the  bath  so  that  there  are  three  atoms  of 
oxygen  calling  for  three  atoms  of  carbon.  This  leaves  the  iron 
alone  in  its  metallic  state  and  it  is  instantly  dissolved  in  the  bath, 
and  the  weight  of  the  charge  is  increased  by  just  so  much.  The 
chemical  symbol  expressing  this  is  as  follows : 

Fe203+3C=2Fe+3CO. 

Generally  it  will  happen  that  the  truth  lies  between  these  two  con- 
ditions; that  the  slag  keeps  part  of  the  oxide  and  the  rest  is  re- 
duced, part  of  the  oxygen  uniting  with  carbon  and  part  of  the  iron 
being  dissolved  in  the  bath,  the  remainder  of  the  oxide  of  iron 
entering  the  slag. 

Still  another  condition  exists  whenever  iron  ore  is  not  added  to 
the  bath.  Under  this  state  of  affairs,  it  may  be  necessary  for  the 
slag  to  have  more  oxide  of  iron,  and  there  is  no  place  for  this  to 
come  from  except  the  bath.  Therefore,  when  there  is  need  of  oxide 
of  iron,  the  iron  of  the  bath  unites  with  the  oxygen  of  the  flame 
and  goes  into  the  slag. 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  if  no  iron  ore  is  used,  a  certain  equivalent 
amount  of  good  stock  must  be  oxidized,  and  that  if  iron  ore  is  used 
the  weight  of  metal  tapped  will  be  greater  than  if  it  had  not  been 
added. 

The  amount  of  carbon  in  the  steel,  and  therefore  the  tensile 
strength,  depends  entirely  on  the  conduct  of  the  operation,  but  the 
amounts  of  phosphorus  and  sulphur  depend  upon  the  kind  of 
stock  which  is  put  into  the  furnace.  If  a  superior  quality  of  steel 
is  required  the  original  stock  should  contain  only  small  percentages 
of  these  elements.  Such  stock,  however,  costs  more  money  than 
common  scrap.  If  an  ordinary  quality  is  required  then  ordinary 
pig-iron  and  scrap  are  used. 

It  is  a  common  belief  that  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  distinguish 
between  open-hearth  steel  and  Bessemer  steel.  It  is  usually  very 
easy  to  tell  basic  open-hearth  steel  from  acid  Bessemer,  or  acid 
open-hearth  from  basic  Bessemer,  but  it  is  impossible  by  any  ordi- 
nary means  to  tell  acid  Bessemer  from  acid  open-hearth  or  basic 
Bessemer  from  basic  open-hearth.  Most  American  metallurgists 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

and  engineers,  however,  agree  that  open-hearth  steel  of  a  given 
composition  is  more  reliable,  more  uniform,  and  less  liable  to  break 
in  service  than  Bessemer  steel  of  the  same  composition.  .  And  there 
£re  many  metallurgists  and  engineers  both  in  this  country  and 
abroad  who  believe  that  acid  open-hearth  steel  is  more  reliable  than 
basic  open-hearth  steel  of  similar  composition.  In  Chapter  XVII 
it  will  be  shown  that  there  is  mathematical  evidence  to  support  this 
opinion. 

A  fact  bearing  upon  this  question  is  that  in  Germany  there  are 
two  companies  which  make  a  business  of  special  steel  for  forgings, 
tools,  etc.,  etc.  These  companies  use  acid  Bessemer  steel  for  this 
work,  although  basic  steel  is  cheaper.  They  are  the  only  makers  of 
acid  steel  in  the  great  Ruhr  district,  and  the  basic  Bessemer  works 
do  not  invade  their  lines  of  business.  This  would  indicate  a  belief 
in  the  superiority  of  the  acid  product. 

THE  BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 

The  term  basic  open-hearth  furnace  means  a  regenerative  gas 
furnace,  used  for  melting  steel  and  lined  with  basic  material, 
usually  either  magnesite  or  burned  dolomite. 

It  has  been  stated  in  discussing  the  acid  open-hearth  that  the 
bottom  itself  takes  very  little  part  in  the  operation,  but  that  it 
-determines  the  character  of  the  slag  that  can  be  carried.  When 
the  bottom  of  the  furnace  is  made  of  silica  (sand)  the  slag  must  be 
silicious ;  but  when  the  bottom  is  basic  the  slag  must  be  basic.  Con- 
sequently in  the  basic  open-hearth  furnace  the  charge  is  composed 
of  pig-iron  and  scrap,  just  as  in  the  acid  furnace,  but,  in  addition 
to  this,  a  certain  amount  of  lime  or  limestone  is  added.  The  whole 
mass  of  iron,  scrap  and  lime  is  melted  down  by  the  action  of  the 
ilame.  The  silicon  and  carbon  of  the  pig-iron  are  oxidized,  just  as 
in  the  acid  process;  the  manganese  of  the  scrap  and  some  of  the 
iron  are  both  oxidized  just  as  on  the  sand  bottom;  but  the  silica 
and  the  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese  do  not  make  a  slag  by  them- 
selves, for  they  unite  with  the  lime  that  has  been  added.  This 
gives  a  basic  slag,  and  when  the  slag  is  basic  the  phosphorus  in  the 
pig-iron  and  scrap  will  be  oxidized  and  enter  the  slag  as  phosphate 
of  lime  or  iron,  just  as  it  does  in  the  basic  Bessemer  vessel.  Thus 
the  basic  open-hearth  furnace  will  allow  the  purification  of  iron  con- 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

taining  phosphorus,  and  for  the  same  reason,  but  in  very  much  less 
measure,  sulphur  can  be  eliminated. 

After  the  charge  of  pig-iron  and  scrap  is  melted,  iron  ore  is 
added  as  fast  as  necessary  to  oxidize  the  excess  of  carbon,  and 
when  the  metal  has  reached  the  desired  composition  it  is  tapped 
into  the  ladle,  the  additions  of  manganese  being  made  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  acid  furnace. 

The  principles  underlying  the  reactions  in  a  basic  furnace  may 
briefly  and  incompletely  be  stated  as  follows: 

(1)  Silicon  oxidizes  readily  at  a  high  heat  under  almost  all 
conditions.     Its  oxide  is  sand  (Si02),  which  acts  as  an  acid,  by 
which  is  meant  that  it  will  combine  if  it  has  a  chance  with  one  of 
the  bases  or  earths,  like  lime,  iron  or  manganese. 

(2)  Phosphorus  oxidizes  readily,  but  it  will  not  stay  in  the  form 
of  oxide  unless  the  conditions  are  favorable.     Its  oxide  is  phos- 
phoric anhydride   (P205),  which  acts  as  an  acid  like  silica;  but 
silica  when  formed  is  stable  and  will  stay  where  it  is  put,  but  the 
oxide  of  phosphorus  must  have  something  to  unite  with,  and  this 
something  must  be  one  of  the  bases  or  earths  like  lime,  iron  or 
manganese.     If  oxide  of  phosphorus  is  formed  and  there  is  no 
base  for  it  to  unite  with,  the  metallic  iron  robs  it  of  its  oxygen, 
and  then  we  have  oxide  of  iron,  while  the  phosphorus  is  left  alone, 
dissolved  in  the  bath. 

(3)  The  oxide  of  phosphorus  requires  a  considerable  quantity  of 
bases  to  unite  with.     If  the  quantity  is  limited,  the  phosphorus 
may  stay  for  a  time,  but  will  then  leave.     If  a  slag  contains  all  the 
phosphorus  it  can  hold  at  a  certain  temperature  and  the  furnace 
gets  hotter,  some  of  the  phosphorus  will  go  back  into  the  metal. 
If,  with  the  same  slag  the  carbon  begins  to  burn  faster  from  any 
cause,  the  phosphorus  will  go  back  into  the  metal  on  account  of 
the  reducing  action  being  stronger. 

(4)  The  oxide  of  phosphorus  does  not  hold  on  with  equal  force 
to  all  bases.     If  it  is  combined  with  lime  it  is  much  harder  to  pull 
it  back  than  if  it  is  combined  with  iron. 

(5)  Since  oxide  of  phosphorus  acts  as  an  acid  and  combines 
with  a  base,  it  is  evident  that  a  slag  which  is  absorbing  phosphorus 
becomes  every  moment  more  acid,  and  thus  becomes  every  moment 
less  capable  of  further  absorption. 

(6)  It  is  the  rule  in  slags  that  a  mixture  of  several  different 
acids  and  bases  will  be  more  active  than  a  slag  made  of  one  acid 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

and  one  base.     Such  a  complex  slag,  all  other  things  being  equal, 
will  be  more  fluid  in  the  furnace  than  a  simple  slag. 

(7)  In  all  furnaces,  whether  acid  or  basic,  there  is  more  or  less 
of  an  automatic  regulation.     In  the  acid  furnace  the  percentage  of 
silica  will  be  constant,  for  if  there  is  not  enough  silicon  in  the 
charge  to  supply  the  necessary  silica,  the  slag  will  eat  away  the 
bottom  until  it  is  satisfied.     The  total  content  of  the  oxides  of  iron 
and  manganese  will  be  constant,  for  if  there  is  no  ore  added,  the 
iron  of  the  bath  will  be  oxidized.     If  ore  is  added,  the  silicon  and 
carbon  of  the  bath  unite  with  the  oxygen  of  the  ore  and  the  iron 
goes  into  the  bath.     Thus  the  slag  takes  care  of  itself  on  an  acid 
hearth. 

(8)  In  the  basic  furnace  the  slag  takes  care  of  itself  to  some 
extent,  but  the  cutting  away  of  the  hearth  must  not  be  allowed,  and 
if  phosphorus  is  to  be  eliminated,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  lime  must 
be  added.     Given  the  right  amount  of  lime,  there  is  then  a  consid- 
erable self-adjustment  of  the  slag  by  the  oxidation  of  the  iron  of 
the  bath  or  by  the  reduction  of  the  iron  from  the  slag.     If  much 
lime  be  added,  it  will  tend  to  drive  the  iron  back  into  the  bath, 
although  it  can  never  do  it  completely,  while  if  little  lime  be  added, 
there  will  be  a  greater  proportion  of  iron  in  the  slag. 

(9)  It  is  necessary  that  the  slag  shall  be  so  basic  that  it  will  not 
attack  the  bottom.     If  it  is  so,  it  is  basic  enough  to  hold  all  the 
phosphorus  that  will  be  present  if  the  stock  contained  only  a  mod- 
erate amount — say  not  over  one-half  of  one  per  cent.     If  the  stock 
contained  far  in  excess  of  this,  as  often  happens,  special  attention 
must  be  paid  that  phosphorus  does  not  pass  back  into  the  steel  when 
a  high  temperature  is  combined  with  violent  agitation  and  perhaps 
a  reducing  action,  these  conditions  being  often  present  when  the 
heat  is  tapped. 

SEGKEGATION". 

Every  engineer  knows  that  steel  is  not  homogeneous.  Manufac- 
turers have  always  known  it,  but  they  have  usually  said  very  little 
about  it.  It  is  a  much  safer  plan  to  state  the  facts  and  let 
proper  allowance  be  made  in  the  proper  place.  The  tendency 
among  structural  engineers  is  continually  toward  heavier  work. 
The  size  of  beams  and  angles  and  girders  is  greater  now  than  it 
was  some  years  ago,  and  the  percentage  of  the  heavy  sections 
is  greater.  These  heavy  pieces  necessarily  mean  heavy  ingots  in 


18  INTKODUCTION. 

order  that  there  shall  be  sufficient  work  upon  the  steel  to  give  it 
a  proper  physical  structure,  and  these  heavy  ingots  mean  a  larger 
cross-section,  and  this  means  that  it  takes  a  longer  time  for  the 
ingot  to  cool  from  the  liquid  to  the  solid  state. 

During  all  the  time  the  ingot  is  liquid  there  is  a  process  going 
on  by  which  the  carbon,  the  phosphorus,  and  the  sulphur  are 
becoming  concentrated  in  the  central  portion  of  the  mass  and  rising 
to  the  upper  portion.  During  the  operation  of  rolling  and  shearing 
off.  the  ends,  the  worst  of  the  ingot  is  discarded,  but  the  central 
portion  of  what  is  left  is  not  uniform  with  the  outside  portions. 
It  is  evident  that  in  most  sections  this  impure  portion  will  con- 
stitute the  neutral  axis,  and  thus  its  influence  be  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum. In  certain  cases,  however,  as  in  armor  plate  and  ordnance, 
great  care  is  taken  to  reject  all  contaminated  portions.  This  could 
be  done  in  structural  material,  but  it  would  involve  much  expense, 
and  no  engineer  would  be  justified  in  insisting  upon  such  a  course, 
since  contracts  are  founded  upon  ordinary  commercial  practice,  and 
this  ordinary  practice  allows  a  certain  measure  of  segregation  to 
exist.  Specifications  are  sometimes  written  in  which  explicit  direc- 
tions are  given  that  in  tests  cut  from  the  finished  material  an  in- 
crease will  be  permitted  in  the  allowable  content  of  impurities. 
This  is  simply  stating  clearly  what  has  long  been  a  recognized 
fact. 

Perhaps  the  most  troublesome  instances  of  segregation  occur  in 
plates  rolled  directly  from  ingots.  It  usually  happens  that  the  top 
surface  of  the  ingot  is  solid  and  that  a  cavity  exists  beneath.  When 
this  is  rolled  into  a  plate,  it  is  possible  to  shear  the  plate  so  that 
this  inner  cavity  is  not  opened,  and  we  then  have  a  finished  plate 
which  has  an  area  of  lamination  and  an  area  of  segregation,  and 
these  are  not  in  the  center  of  the  plate,  but  near  one  edge.  The 
test  pieces  are  almost  always  taken  from  the  corners,  so  that  they 
never  reach  the  segregated  portion,  and  there  is  nothing  to  mark 
the  dangerous  condition  of  the  plate.  In  plates  rolled  from  slabs 
there  is  often  a  streak  of  segregation  running  through  the  central 
axis,  but  there  is  not  the  centralization  of  impurities  that  occurs 
in  the  older  method  of  manufacture. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  UPON  STEEL. 

When  an  ingot  of  steel  is  cast  in  a  mold  and  allowed  to  cool  it 
is  not  a  homogeneous  mass  of  uniform  strength  throughout.  Its 


INTRODUCTION. 

structure  is  coarsely  crystalline  and  these  crystals  do  not  always 
have  a  firm  hold  on  each  other.  Moreover,  there  are  many  small 
cavities,  called  blowholes,  distributed  unevenly  but  mainly  very 
near  the  surface,  and  oftentimes  a  much  larger  cavity  in  the  center 
of  the  upper  portion.  There  are  also  shrinkage  cracks  extending 
inward  from  the  surface,  these  cracks  being  very  numerous  in  the 
case  of  steel  that  is  poured  at  a  very  high  temperature. 

When  the  ingot  is  heated  and  rolled  all  these  disturbing  factors 
tend  to  disappear.  The  crystals  are  forced  together  and  come  into 
more  intimate  contact;  the  blowholes  are  crushed  out  of  existence, 
and  although  their  sides  are  not  always  perfectly  welded  together 
they  at  the  worst  become  mere  lengthwise  seams,  which  have  no 
influence  on  the  longitudinal  strength  and  scarcely  any  on  the  bend- 
ing or  torsi onal  stiffness ;  the  central  cavity  is  cut  off  when  the  top 
is  cropped  at  the  hot  shears;  the  cracks  are  at  first  opened  up  by 
the  rolls  and  are  then  either  worked  out  into  a  perfect  surface  or 
show  themselves  in  open  and  staring  flaws  that  condemn  the  bar  and 
so  prevent  its  use  in  structural  work. 

It  will  be  evident  that  the  more  work  that  is  put  upon  the  piece 
the  greater  will  be  the  tendency  to  remove  flaws  and  to  secure  homo- 
geneity. Of  course,  if  an  ingot  is  not  alike  at  the  top  and  bottom 
no  amount  of  work  will  make  the  bar  from  the  upper  end  like  the 
bar  from  the  lower  end,  but  the  effect  of  the  continual  working  in 
the  rolls  will  be  toward  doing  away  with  local  irregularities  in  both 
physical  and  chemical  condition.  For  these  reasons  and  particu- 
larly on  account  of  the  elimination  of  surface  imperfections,  the 
tendency  of  modern  rolling-mill  practice  is  toward  the  use  of  larger 
ingots.  In  cases  where  the  ingot  is  rolled  into  the  finished  bar  at 
one  heat  it  will  be  evident  that  with  a  large  ingot  the  bar  will  be 
finished  at  a  lower  temperature  on  account  of  the  greater  time 
necessary  to  do  more  work,  and  this  lower  finishing  temperature  is 
beneficial.  In  cases  where  the  ingot  is  not  finished  at  one  heat  the 
use  of  a  large  ingot  renders  it  possible  to  get  a  clean  bloom  of 
large  size,  and  this  again  makes  it  probable  that  the  bar  will  be 
finished  at  a  low  temperature. 

THE  EFFECT  CAUSED  BY  CHANGES  IN  THE  SHAPE  OF 
THE  TEST  PIECE. 

It  is  the  custom  for  engineers  to  specify  that  steel  shall  give  a 
certain  percentage  of  elongation,  but  it  is  seldom  that  anything  is 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

said  as  to  how  and  where  the  test  shall  be  taken.  This  omission  is 
covered  by  a  general  understanding  in  the  trade  so  that  there  is  sel- 
dom any  trouble  in  the  case  of  standard  structural  shapes.  Where- 
ever  it  is  possible  the  test  piece  is  taken  so  as  to  leave  two  parallel 
rolled  surfaces  on  the  test  bar,  the  other  two  sides  being  machined. 
This  can  readily  be  done  with  plates,  beams,  channels,  angles  and 
similar  shapes.  In  small  rounds  the  whole  piece  is  taken  as  it 
comes  from  the  rolls.  In  the  case  of  plates  it  is  understood  that  the 
test  piece  is  to  be  taken  lengthwise  of  the  plate  unless  stated  other- 
wise in  the  specifications.  In  forgings,  however,  no  absolute  stand- 
ard can  be  given,  but  it  is  usual  to  cut  a  test  from  a  prolongation  of 
the  piece  at  a  short  distance  below  the  surface.  In  many  cases  this  is 
unnecessary,  and  it  will  suffice  to  forge  a  small  bar  from  the  heat 
and  finish  this  either  at  a  small  hammer  or  at  a  rolling-mill.  In 
other  cases,  like  armor  plate  and  cannon,  stringent  provisions  are 
incorporated  in  the  specifications. 

The  results  obtained  from  test  pieces  of  different  shape  are  not 
the  same.  The  general  section,  whether  round  or  rectangular, 
makes  a  difference,  and  in  a  rectangular  piece  the  relation  of  the 
width  to  the  thickness  influences  the  result.  It  will  be  seen  that 
this  latter  fact  is  important  in  cutting  strips  from  angles  or  flats 
of  varying  thickness.  Needless  to  say  that  the  length  is  the  one 
predominant  factor.  Just  before  breaking  there  is  a  drawing  out 
of  the  bar  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  place  where  it  is 
going  to  break,  and  this  local  stretch  will  be  a  greater  proportion 
of  the  total  in  the  case  of  a  bar  two  inches  long  than  with  a  bar 
ten  inches  long.  In  order  that  records  shall  be  comparative,  the 
length  of  eight  inches  is  used  throughout  England  and  America, 
except  for  forgings  and  castings,  in  which  cases  a  2-inch  test  is 
often  used,  as  it  is  both  inconvenient  and  expensive  to  get  the  longer 
piece.  In  foreign  countries  the  standard  length  is  200  millimeters 
=7.87  inches,  so  that  the  results  are  fairly  comparable  with  our 
8-inch  test. 

The  general  laws  may  be  thus  summarized,  the  data  from  which 
the  conclusions  are  drawn  being  given  in  Chapter  XVI. 

(1)  A  rolled  round  will  give  the  best  results  if  tested  in  the 
shape  in  which  it  leaves  the  rolls.     If  the  outside  surface  is  removed 
by  machining  the  elongation  will  be  reduced. 

(2)  The   tensile   strength    of   a   plate   as    determined   by   the 
grooved   (marine)    section  will  be  from   6500  pounds  to   12,500 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

pounds  per  square  inch  higher  than  if  determined  by  the  parallel- 
sided  test. 

(3)  Flat  bars  differ  from  rounds  in  having  less  tensile  strength, 
lower  elastic  limit,  lower  elastic  ratio,  greater  elongation,  and  a 
slightly  lower  reduction  ©f  area. 

(4)  In  testing  flats  the  elongation  increases  regularly  as  the 
width  increases,  while  the  reduction  of  area  regularly  decreases. 

(5)  The  percentage  of  elongation  decreases  as  the  length  of  the 
test  piece  increases.     The  law  of  change  is  such  that  if  a  piece  8 
inches  long  gives  30  per  cent,  elongation,  a  piece  of  infinite  length 
would  give  about  24  per  cent. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  CEKTAIN  ELEMENTS  UPON 

STEEL. 

Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  state  accurately  the  effect  of 
different  elements  upon  the  strength  and  ductility  of  steel.  Those 
who  have  studied  and  worked  over  the  problem  differ  among  them- 
selves and  differ  widely.  Yet  it  is  a  common  thing  for  engineers 
to  write  a  specification  calling  for  a  steel  of  a  certain  tensile 
strength,  and  limiting  the  content  of  carbon,  phosphorus,  man- 
ganese and  sulphur.  It  often  happens  that  such  specifications  are 
impracticable,  if  not  impossible.  For  instance,  the  tensile  strength 
is  allowed  to  vary  between  60,000  pounds  and  70,000  pounds  per 
square  inch,  but  it  may  be  that  the  highest  allowable  contents  of 
carbon,  phosphorus  and  manganese  will  actually  give  a  strength 
of  only  65,000  pounds.  Now  it  will  be  evident  that  the  true  allow- 
ance of  tensile  strength  is  not  10,000  pounds,  but  5000  pounds. 
It  is  also  evident  that  the  manufacturer  must  keep  his  phosphorus 
and  manganese  at  the  highest  point,  a  thing  the  engineer  is  very 
far  from  wishing,  but  which  he  has  ignorantly  made  necessary. 

The  slightest  consideration  will  show  that  it  is  a  mathematical 
impossibility  for  the  engineer  to  put  both  chemical  and  physical 
limits  and  have  them  coincide,  unless  he  knows  absolutely  the  effect 
of  each  element  upon  the  strength  of  steel,  and  no  man  in  the 
world  claims  to  know  that  to-day.  It  is  right  for  the  engineer  to 
specify  certain  parts  of  the  chemical  formula,  but  he  must  leave 
room  for  the  manufacturer  to  attain  the  physical  results.  If  he 
specifies  the  phosphorus  limit,  he  should  leave  the  carbon  open,  and 
if  he  specifies  the  carbon  he  should  leave  the  phosphorus  and  man- 
ganese to  the  manufacturer. 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

Following  are  the  elements  usually  found  in  steel  and  the  gen- 
eral influence  they  have  upon  the  physical  properties.  In  each  case 
the  statements  are  my  own  opinions.  In  a  general  way  they  will 
be  agreed  to  by  almost  all  metallurgists,  as  far  as  structural  steel 
is  concerned. 

Silicon:  This  element  is  seldom  present  in  structural  steel  in 
quantities  greater  than  a  trace,  and  the  effect  of  these  minute 
quantities  may  be  ignored.  It  is  present  in  steel  castings  in 
amounts  up  to  four-tenths  of  one  per  cent.,  but  its  influence  is  not 
great  for  better  or  for  worse. 

Copper:  This  element  has  some  influence  on  the  hot  properties, 
but  not  as  much  as  generally  supposed,  as  its  effect  is  often  masked 
by  sulphur,  with  which  it  is  generally  associated.  It  has  no  effect 
on  the  cold  properties  as  far  as  known. 

Manganese:  The  most  important  function  of  this  element  is  to 
give  ductility  while  the  steel  is  hot,  so  that  the  piece  can  be  rolled 
into  finished  form  without  tearing.  Ordinary  structural  steels 
contain  from  .30  to  .60  per  cent,  and  within  these  limits  it  has  very 
little  influence  upon  either  the  tensile  strength  or  the  ductility. 
Above  this  amount  it  adds  to  the  tensile  strength,  but  does  not 
materially  decrease  the  ductility.  It  would  seem,  however,  to 
slightly  increase  its  liability  to  break  under  shock,  although  this  is 
not  proven. 

Sulphur:  This  element  has  just  the  opposite  effect  from  man- 
ganese and  makes  the  steel  crack  while  it  is  being  hot  rolled. 
After  the  metal  is  cold  it  seems  to  have  no  appreciable  effect  upon 
the  physical  properties. 

Phosphorus:  This  element  has  little  effect  upon  the  hot  prop- 
erties, but  in  the  cold  state  it  makes  the  steel  brittle  and  adds  to  the 
tensile  strength  in  about  the  same  degree  as  carbon.  In  ether 
words  an  increase  of  one-hundredth  of  one  per  cent.  (.01  per  cent.) 
of  phosphorus  increases  the  tensile  strength  about  one  thousand 
pounds  per  square  inch.  In  ordinary  steels  the  phosphorus  is 
always  limited  to  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent.  In  special  steela 
much  lower  limits  are  given. 

Carbon:  This  is  the  one  element  used  above  all  others  by  manu- 
facturers in  getting  required  physical  properties.  An  increase  of 
one-hundredth  of  one  per  cent.  (.01  per  cent.)  gives  an  increase  in 
tensile  strength  of  about  1000  pounds  per  square  inch.  It  de- 
creases the  ductility  slightly  and  regularly.  When  steel  is  heated 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

red  hot  and  pmnged  in  water  the  carbon  in  the  metal  unites  with 
the  iron  in  some  peculiar  way  so  as  to  produce  a  compound  of 
extreme  hardness.  If  the  steel  contain  one-third  of  one  per  cent, 
of  carbon  a  sharp  point  so  quenched  will  scratch  glass.  With  two- 
thirds  of  one  per  cent,  the  steel  is  hard  enough  to  make  common 
cutting  tools.  With  one  per  cent,  it  reaches  nearly  its  limit  of 
hardness.  This  percentage  is  used  for  the  harder  tools,  but  with 
higher  carbons  the  brittleness  increases  so  fast  that  the  usefulness 
of  the-  metal  is  limited. 

Nickel:  This  element  in  alloy  with  steel  gives  a  metal  with  a 
high  elastic  limit  and  having  great  toughness  under  shock.  Its 
principal  uses  are  for  armor  plate  and  special  forgings. 

Chapter  XVII  describes  two  investigations  I  have  made  into  the 
influence  of  the  metalloids.  The  first  was  by  the  Method  of  Least 
Squares  and  the  second  by  plotting.  The  formulae  deduced  were 
as  follows: 

First  Method : 

A.  Acid  Steel  38600+1210C+890P-f  R=Ultimate  Strength. 

B.  Basic  Steel  37430+950C+85Mn+1050P+R=Ultimate 

Strength. 
Second  Method: 

C.  Acid  Steel  40000+ lOOOC+lOOOP-f  XMn+R=Ultimate 

.    Strength. 

D.  Basic  Steel  41500+770C+1000P+YMn+R=TJltimate 

Strength. 

In  equations  C  and  D  the  factors  X  and  Y  are  variables,  being 
zero  in  a  low  steel,  but  rising  with  each  addition  of  carbon  and 
manganese. 

In  these  equations  the  contents  of  carbon,  manganese  and  phos- 
phorus are  to  be  given  in  units  of  .01  per  cent.,  while  E  is  a  factor 
depending  upon  the  finishing  temperature,  and  it  may  be  plus 
or  minus.  The  results  indicate  that  the  metalloids  have  different 
quantitative  effects  upon  acid  and  basic  steels.  Now,  if  acid  steel 
does  not  follow  the  same  law  as  basic  steel,  then  they  are  not  the 
same,  and  if  they  are  not  the  same,  then  it  is  possible  that  one  is 
better  than  the  other,  a  possibility  that  is  vigorously  denied  by  some 
people. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

I  find  that  it  takes  more  carbon  to  give  a  certain  tensile  strength 
in  basic  than  in  acid  steel,  even  when  the  phosphorus  is  the  same, 
and  this  is  a  bad  thing  because  every  increase  in  carbon  gives  a 
better  chance  for  segregation  and  lack  of  uniformity.  I  do  not 
say  that  this  in  itself  proves  basic  steel  to  be  unreliable,  but  it  does 
indicate  that  acid  steel  may  be  preferable  in  some  cases. 

SPECIFICATIONS  ON  STRUCTURAL  MATERIAL. 

It  is  the  custom  for  engineers  to  specify  the  kind  of  steel  they 
wish,  and  what  the  physical  requirements  shall  be.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  the  engineer  does  not  understand  all  about  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  steel  and  does  not  know  what  elongation  and  reduction 
of  area  should  be  obtained  in  each  case.  He  often  takes  the  first 
specification  he  finds  and  adds  to  it  some  special  idea  which  has 
been  impressed  upon  his  mind.  There  are  many  such  specifications 
used  by  engineers.  Some  of  them  are  out  of  date,  but  hold  their 
place  because  the  longer  they  have  been  in  use  the  more  reverence 
they  receive  from  certain  people,  and  the  more  proud  of  his  work 
is  the  author.  His  name  attached  to  a  set  of  specifications  is  a 
constant  advertisement,  and  arouses  a  pardonable  feeling  of  self- 
satisfaction.  These  conditions,  however,  do  not  serve  scientific 
progress. 

In  1895  the  Association  of  American  Steel  Manufacturers 
adopted  a  set  of  specifications,  and  although  it  was  claimed  that  it 
was  not  the  place  of  the  manufacturers  to  do  this,  yet  the  users 
of  structural  material  eagerly  grasped  these  specifications  as  filling 
a  long-felt  want,  and  they  are  the  basis  of  business  to-day.  There 
are  two  facts  which  may  well  be  kept  in  mind : 

First:  The  steel  manufacturers  in  session  assembled  may  be 
supposed  to  know  something  about  steel. 

Second :  It  is  not  for  their  interest  to  advocate  a  bad  material. 
It  might  be  for  the  interest  of  one  of  them  to  pass  a  bad  lot  of  steel 
on  a  single  contract,  but  as  a  whole  they  have  no  incentive  to  plead 
the  cause  of  something  they  think  is  bad. 

The  steel  makers  are  not  a  unit  in  all  matters,  but  they  agree 
in  some  things.  Most  of  them  believe  that  Bessemer  steel  will  do 
for  buildings,  highway  bridges  and  similar  purposes.  They  believe 
that  open-hearth  steel  should  be  used  for  railway  bridges,  for 
boilers,  for  locomotive  forgings  and  other  purposes  where  the  steel 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

is  subject  to  vibration  and  shock,  and  that  in  such  open-hearth 
steel  the  phosphorus  should  be  lower  than  in  the  ordinary  run  of 
Bessemer  steel.  In  some  other  matters  they  do  not  agree.  They 
differ  in  regard  to  acid  and  basic  steel.  It  is  my  opinion  that  acid 
steel,  other  things  being  equal,  is  superior  to-  basic  steel,  but  the 
manufacturers,  being  unable  to  give  an  authoritative  opinion,  leave 
the  matter  open  to  the  engineer,  stating  what  the  phosphorus  shall 
be  in  each  case.  This  whole  subject  of  specifications  is  now  under 
consideration  by  the  engineering  societies  of  our  country  and  es- 
pecially by  the  American  Society  for  Testing  Materials.  No  ordi- 
nary specification,  however,  can  take  account  of  all  the  variations  in 
the  physical  results  from  bars  of  different  section,  but  certain  laws 
must  be  recognized  by  the  engineer  and  the  manufacturer.  These 
laws  may  be  stated  as  follows: 

(1)  In  rounds  an  increase  in  diameter  is  accompanied  by  a  de- 
crease in  ultimate  strength,  a  greater  decrease  in  elastic  limit,  an 
increase  in  the  elongation,  and  a  decrease  in  the  reduction  of  area. 

(2)  In  angles  an  increase  in  thickness  is  accompanied  by  a  de- 
crease in  ultimate  strength,  a  greater  decrease  in  the  elastic  limit, 
and  a  decrease  in  the  reduction  of  area,  while  the  elongation  re- 
mains constant. 

(3)  In  plates  a  thickness  of  f  inch  to  £  inch  should  be  taken 
as  the  basis. 

Thinner  plates  will  show  higher  tensile  strength,  much  higher 
elastic  limit,  lower  elongation  and  lower  reduction  of  area. 

Thicker  plates  will  show  lower  ultimate  strength,  much  lower 
elastic  limit,  lower  elongation  and  lower  reduction  of  area- 
Narrow  plates  will  give  higher  elongation  and  higher  reduction 
of  area  than  wide  plates. 

Tests  cut  crosswise  of  the  steel  will  usually  show  lower  ultimate 
strength,  lower  elastic  limit,  lower  elongation  and  lower  reduction 
of  area.  This  is  most  marked  in  long,  narrow  plates. 

Universal  mill  plates  will  show  a  greater  difference  between 
lengthwise  and  crosswise  tests  than  will  be  found  in  sheared  plates. 

(4)  In  channels,  beams  and  similar  sections,  the  tests  cut  from 
the  web  will  follow  the  laws  just  stated  for  plates  of  medium  width. 
In   pieces  cut  from  the  flanges  there  will  be   a  lower  ultimate 
strength,  a  lower  elastic  limit,  and  a  lower  reduction  of  area. 

(5)  In  eye-bars,  an  increase  in  thickness  will  show  a  lower  ulti- 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

mate  strength  and  a  much  lower  elastic  limit.  The  elongation  will 
decrease  as  the  length  increases,  so  that  if  a  length  of  15  feet  gives  a 
stretch  of  15  per  cent,  a  length  of  35  feet  will  not  give  over  13 
per  cent. 

WELDING. 

In  the  days  of  wrought-iron,  welding  was  the  basis  of  all  forg- 
ing and  of  very  much  structural  work.  To-day  all  structural  mem- 
bers are  of  steel,  as  well  as  a  great  proportion  of  the  stock  in  the 
shop  of  the  village  blacksmith.  This  soft  steel  will  weld,  and  the 
average  blacksmith  and  machinist,  to  say  nothing  of  some  engineers 
who  ought  to  know  better,  believe  that  a  welded  piece  of  steel  is 
practically  as  good  as  a  new  bar.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  while  a  weld 
is  better  than  nothing,  and  while  it  may  have  half  the  strength  of 
the  natural  bar,  and  may  have  its  full  strength,  it  does  not  have  its 
toughness  and  is  unfit  to  use  where  failure  will  be  dangerous,  and 
where  it  can  be  avoided.  It  is  also  true  that  a  weld  of  wrought- 
iron  is  entirely  unreliable. 

STEEL  CASTINGS. 

A  steel  casting  is  a  mass  of  steel  poured  directly  into  finished 
shape  from  fluid  steel  made  in  the  regular  way.  In  this  country 
acid  open-hearth  furnaces  are  generally  used,  but  in  Germany  the 
basic  furnace  is  often  employed.  Sometimes  the  Bessemer  con- 
verter is  used  for  this  work.  One  of  the  latest  forms  is  known  as 
the  Tropenas  process.  Instead  of  having  the  tuyeres  in  the  bottom 
of  the  converter,  the  air  is  blown  at  a  low  pressure  upon  the  surface 
of  the  bath.  At  a  point  from  four  to  seven  inches  above  this  set  of 
tuyeres  is  another  set,  which  supplies  air  to  burn  the  carbonic  oxide 
coming  from  the  metal.  This  upper  row  of  tuyeres  is  not  operated 
until  the  blowing  is  well  under  way.  The  lower  tuyeres  oxidize  the 
carbon  to  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  just  as  in  an  ordinary  converter, 
while  the  upper  tuyeres  burn  this  to  carbonic  acid  (C02).  In  this 
way  there  is  a  great  increase  in  the  amount  of  heat  produced  and 
the  steel  will  be  hotter  than  if  blown  in  the  usual  way. 

In  the  steel  foundry,  it  is  the  practice  to  put  "sink-heads"  on  steel 
castings.  These  are  masses  of  metal  that  rise  above  the  rest  of  the 
casting  and  are  of  such  size  that  they  stay  liquid  while  the  main 
body  is  solidifying,  and  the  metal  flows  from  these  heads  down 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

into  the  casting  to  supply  the  gap  made  by  shrinkage.  These 
'•'sink-heads"  or  "risers"  must  be  cut  off  by  saws  or  otherwise,  and 
it  often  happens  that  the  surface  so  exposed  shows  a  few  holes. 
These  holes  do  not  indicate  a  bad  casting,  as  the  fault  is  purely  local. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  often  happens  that  the  casting  is  machined 
in  one  or  more  places,  and  this  exposes  minute  blowholes.  These 
usually  are  not  serious,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  holes  do  no  harm  in 
themselves,  as  the  strength  of  the  casting  is  just  the  same  as  if  an 
equal  number  of  holes  had  been  bored  with  a  tool. 

A  casting  of  complicated  shape  is  likely  to  be  internally  strained 
by  the  cooling  of  the  mass.  Certain  parts  will  be  in  tension  and 
certain  parts  in  compression.  In  simple  shapes  these  conditions  do 
not  exist  to  any  extent,  but  in  complicated  forms  it  is  well  to 
anneal  the  whole  casting.  This  process  when  properly  conducted 
changes  the  crystalline  structure  and  increases  its  ductility.  The 
improvements  invented  in  the  last  few  years  in  the  way  of  py- 
rometers allow  this  process  to  be  carried  out  with  scientific  precision, 
instead  of  in  the  old  haphazard  method  that  often  did  as  much 
harm  as  good. 

INSPECTION. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  write  the  self-evident  laws  that  should 
govern  the  inspection  of  steel,  for  the  manufacturer  should  supply 
what  is  required  and  the  inspector  should  receive  .nothing  else.  If 
the  steel  does  not  fulfil  the  specifications,  it  is  the  fault  of  the 
maker,  and  all  the  chances  and  losses  of  error  should  have  been 
taken  into  consideration  in  making  the  contract.  Moreover,  the 
inspector  is  only  an  agent,  and  he  violates  his  trust  in  accepting 
anything  that  falls  outside  the  limits  which,  either  wisely  or  fool- 
ishly, have  been  set  by  his  principal. 

These  facts  are  patent;  but  trouble  does  arise,  and  it  will  be  to 
the  advantage  of  all  concerned  if  the  points  of  difference  are  dis- 
cussed. The  main  causes  of  disagreement  are  as  follows: 

(1)  Dishonesty  of  the  manufacturers. 

(2)  Open  disregard  of  specifications  by  the  manufacturers. 

(3)  Bad  construction  of  the  specifications. 

(4)  Conscientiousness  and  non-discretionary  powers  o_  the  in- 
spector. 

The  dishonesty  of  the  manufacturer  is  a  sad  fact  which  occa- 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

sionally  appears  in  evidence,  but  where  one  instance  becomes  known 
a  dozen  escape  observation,  for  cheating  is  so  easy,  even  with  care- 
ful supervision,  that  the  temptation  is  hard  to  overcome  when  large 
financial  stakes  are  put  in  hazard  by  absurd  restrictions.  It  is  a 
physical  impossibility  for  any  ten  men  to  follow  the  material 
through  the  processes  of  manufacture  to  see  that  no  false  marking 
is  done,  and  although  it  is  true  that  the  buyer  has  the  privilege 
of  investigating  the  steel  at  a  subsequent  time,  every  one  knows  that 
engineers  do  not  go  into  the  erecting  shops  and  cut  pieces  out  of- 
the  angles,  and  test  and  analyze  the  samples.  Moreover,  a  dozen 
random  tests  would  not  show  that  some  pieces  were  not  wrongly 
marked,  or  that  some  of  the  metal  was  not  outside  of  the  specifica* 
tions.  It -must  also  be  considered  that  no  ordinary  tests  can  dis- 
tinguish between  Bessemer  and  open-hearth  steel,  or  between  acid 
and  basic  steel,  while  it  is  only  the  laboratory  which  can  find 
whether  the  phosphorus  is  high  or  low.  Inspectors  should  make 
reports  based  on  their  own  knowledge;  they  should  know  how  the 
steel  is  made,  and,  when  fraud  is  suspected,  should  pick  out  the 
bars  from  which  the  tests  are  to  be  cut,  see  that  no  substitution  is 
allowed,  take  drillings  to  responsible  chemists,  and  endeavor  to  stop 
the  deceptions  which  place  the  honest  manufacturer  at  a  disad- 
vantage, as  well  as  nullify  the  calculations  of  the  engineer.  In  so 
doing  it  is  necessary  to  enforce  the  spirit  rather  than  the  letter  of 
the  law.  In  order  to  reduce  the  friction  to  a  minimum,  the  in- 
spector should  be  clothed  with  discretionary  power,  for  chemists 
will  differ,  and  steel  will  not  be  absolutely  uniform,  and  different 
rolled  sections  will  give  different  results. 

Some  engineers  require  that  inspectors  shall  watch  every  detail 
of  manufacture  by  night  and  day.  This  provision  may  be  neces- 
sary in  some  cases,  but  it  is  sometimes  very  unjust.  A  contract  is 
often  divided  among  two  or  more  works,  and  it  may  happen  that 
one  of  these  succeeds  in  overcoming  certain  difficulties  by  ingenuity 
and  study.  Such  an  advantage  is  the  rightful  property  of  the 
originator,  and  the  works  making  the  discovery  is  entitled  to  all  the 
gain  that  may  result  therefrom.  Under  this  inquisitory  system 
it  is  impossible  to  keep  secret  any  detail  of  manipulation,  since  the- 
inspectors,  who  travel  from  one  works  to  another,  will  naturally 
carry  such  information  to  unsuccessful  manufacturers.  This  may 
be  done  from  the  most  commendable  motives,  but  the  result  is  more, 
pleasant  to  Utopian  philosophers  than  to  business  rivals. 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

The  disregard  of  specifications  by  the  manufacturer  often  appears 
in  substituting  Bessemer  metal  for  open-hearth,  or  basic  steel  in 
place  of  acid,  and  there  are  cases  where  such  material  has  been 
accepted.  Needless  to  say  that  by  so  doing  the  engineer  places 
himself  in  an  unfair  relation  to  every  works  which  made  a  bid  on 
the  better  quality  of  material,  and  needless  to  say  that  such  a  trans- 
action casts  a  shadow  of  doubt  over  every  clause  in  future  contracts. 

Such  a  concession  is  an  acknowledgment  that  the  specifications 
were  written  in  ignorance,  and  while  such  error  should  be  recog- 
nized when  it  exists,  it  would  also  be  well  if  carefully  considered 
requirements  were  enforced.  Often  there  are  details  which  are  the 
result  of  carelessness.  In  a  large  contract  embracing  a  number  of 
foundation  bolts  and  similar  forgings,  part  were  of  steel  from 
70,000  to  80,000  pounds  tensile  strength,  while  the  rest  were  from 
72,000  to  82,000.  The  cause  of  this  absurdity  was  a  change  in 
management  with  a  revision  of  the  specifications,  and  while  the 
requirements  for  a  certain  portion  were  allowed  to  remain  un- 
altered, new  regulations  were  made  for  the  rest  of  the  work.  The 
divergence  was  an  accident,  and  yet  the  inspector  refused  to  accept 
steel  running  71,500  pounds  for  one  bolt,  while  for  another  he  would 
accept  71,000  pounds. 

Mistakes  in  specifications  call  for  discretionary  power  on  the  part 
of  the  inspector,  and  such  power  is  needed  also  to  settle  questions 
of  detail  arising  in  the  manufacture.  Thus,  during  the  construction 
of  a  large  train  shed,  a  few  angles  were  needed  of  a  special  section 
not  on  hand.  The  time  to  put  in  rolls  to  make  them  would  have 
cost  many  times  what  the  angles  were  worth,  but  it  was  necessary 
to  make  a  hard  fight  for  permission  to  use  angles  of  the  same  sec- 
tion and  the  same  analysis  and  character,  but  which  were  one- 
sixteenth  inch  thicker  than  called  for.  It  is  conceivable  that  in  a 
war  vessel,  where  every  pound  is  figured  upon,  an  inspector  would 
refuse  to  accept  anything  beyond  the  limit,  and  in  the  building  of 
a  long-span  bridge  the  weights  of  materials  should  be  carefully 
watched ;  but  that  the  same  care  is  necessary,  in  the  face  of  great 
expense,  in  a  small-span  train  shed,  is  a  conceit  which  could  only 
arise  from  misguided  honesty. 

A  more  striking  example  occurred  in  the  assembling  of  the 
angles  and  plates  composing  certain  large  members  where  it  was 
necessary  to  use  a  few  long,  narrow  pieces  not  over  one-sixteenth  of 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

an  inch  in  thickness,  as  filling  pieces  between  riveted  work  of  one 
and  one-half  inches  in  thickness.  Although  this  was  simply  a 
washer,  and  although  any  storehouse  could  supply  suitable  sheets 
of  ordinary  steel,  the  inspector  required  that  the  steel  be  made 
especially  for  the  place,  and  the  same  in  composition  and  physical 
characteristics  as  the  angles  and  plates,  although  this  necessitated 
the  making  of  contracts  with  sheet  mills  and  the  delay  of  the 
erecting  work.  The  honest  business  man  wants  a  competent  in- 
spector who  knows  how  to  get  what  is  called  for ;  who  may  examine 
a  turnbuckle  with  a  magnifying  glass,  but  pays  less  attention  to  an 
angle  for  a  hand  railing;  who  hammers  a  fire-box  sheet,  but  is 
lenient  with  a  gusset-plate. 

The  proper  way  would  be  to  place  the  inspection  in  the  hands  of 
a  competent  man,  with  full  authority  to  make  concessions  or  extra 
tests  during  the  progress  of  the  work.  Under  any  system,  most  of 
the  work  will  probably  be  done  by  subordinates  who  are  not  quali- 
fied to  decide  all  questions  that  may  arise,  but  the  chiefs  of  Ameri- 
can inspection  bureaus  are  capable  of  meeting  all  responsibility. 

In  former  days  surface  inspection  was  the  most  important  func- 
tion of  the  inspector ;  to-day  it  is  the  least  of  his  duties.  In  fact, 
it  has  become  such  a  matter  of  form  that  there  is  a  tendency  to- 
ward its  complete  abolition.  There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
such* a  step,  for  if  an  imperfection  is  discovered  in  any  piece  of 
steel,  no  matter  if  it  has  passed  a  dozen  inspectors,  the  defective 
member  must  be  replaced.  Granting  this  condition,  it  is  better 
for  the  manufacturer  to  reject  unsuitable  bars  at  the  mill  than  to 
have  them  thrown  out  at  distant  points,  and  it  will  be  to  his  interest 
to  inspect  all  material  before  shipment. 

The  mill  inspection  is  so*  carefully  done  in  well-conducted  works 
that  it  is  unusual  for  an  outside  inspector  to  reject  bars,  and  it 
would  be  still  more  thoroughly  performed  if  the  manufacturer 
knew  the  responsibility  rested  with  him  alone.  Where  the  material 
is  to  be  passed  upon  by  an  outside  inspector,  the  natural  tendency 
is  to  let  doubtful  bars  go  by,  since  the  responsibility  of  their  ac- 
ceptance is  to  rest  upon  other  shoulders.  These  facts  are  so  well 
known  that  some  of  the  best  engineers  in  the  country  do  not  make 
any  surface  inspection. 

Whether  this  practice  be  generally  accepted  or  not,  it  is  eminently 
desirable  that  the  inspection  bureaus  should  arrange  to  examine  the 


INTRODUCTION.      -  31 

material  as  fast  as  it  is  made,  so  that  double  handling  of  stock  may 
be  avoided.  Such  handling  often  costs  more  than  the  inspection 
bureau  receives  for  its  work,  and  it  is  certainly  an  equitable  request 
that  some  action  be  taken  to  remedy  this  loss. 

ERRORS  IN  CHEMICAL  RECORDS. 

In  1888  the  chemical  societies  of  the  world  investigated  the 
methods  of  steel  analysis.  They  first  condemned  the  method  of 
carbon  determination  in  general  use  and  then  approved  certain 
other  methods.  Following  the  plan  mapped  out  and  under  a  sys- 
tem of  duplicate  determinations,  one  chemist  reported  on  one  sam- 
ple 0.45  per  cent,  of  carbon,  while  another  reported  0.50  per  cent. 
On  a  second  steel  the  results  varied  from  .15  to  .18  per  cent.  In 
the  case  of  phosphorus  the  English  chemists  reported  .078  per  cent, 
on  one  sample  and  the  Swedes  .102  per  cent. 

In  an  investigation  by  Wahlberg,*  comparing  the  work  of  four 
laboratories  of  high  repute,  different  chemists  found  the  carbon  in 
one  soft  steel  to  be  from  .118  to  .191  per  cent. ;  in  a  slightly  harder 
steel  from  .200  to  .254  per  cent. ;  in  a  still  harder  steel  from  .590  to 
.692  per  cent.,  and  in  a  spring  steel  from  .880  to  1.060  per  cent. 
In  color  work  the  higher  steels  varied  as  much  as  23  points,  while 
the  difference  between  the  results  by  color  and  by  combustion  were 
as  much  as  .185  per  cent,  in  the  hard  steels. 

In  1904  an  investigation  was  carried  on  by  the  Cambria  Steel 
Co.,  Johnstown,  Pa.,  by  sending  drillings  to  twenty-three  American 
steel  works  laboratories.  As  was  to  be  expected,  there  was  a  wide 
variation.  Carbon  ran  from  .50  to  .60  per  cent,  by  color  and  .52 
to  .59  in  a  few  combustion  determinations.  Silicon  varied  from 
.078  to  .095;  phosphorus  from  .093  to  .108;  sulphur  from  .032  to 
.042;  and  manganese  from  .68  to  .87  per  cent.  Omitting  in  the 
case  of  each  of  the  elements  the  lowest  two  and  the  highest  two 
determinations,  so  as  to  have  only  nineteen  results  out  of  twenty- 
three,  the  carbon  varied  from  .53  to  .59  per  cent. ;  the  silicon  from 
.080  to  .093;  the  phosphorus  from  .099  to  .104;  the  sulphur  from 
.037  to  .041 ;  and  manganese  from  .68  to  .77  per  cent. 

In  spite  of  these  facts,  there  are  engineers  who  issue  specifica- 
tions giving  an  allowable  range  of  only  .10  per  cent,  of  carbon,  say 
from  .55  to  .65  per  cent.,  and  specifying  at  the  same  time  an  al- 

*  Jour.  I.  &  S.  /.,  Vol.  II,  1901. 


32  .      INTRODUCTION. 

lowable  range  of  only  10,000  pounds  in  tensile  strength.  Omit- 
ting the  errors  in  chemical  work,  such  a  specification  implies  the 
existence  of  a  formula  expressing  accurately  the  effect  of  all  the 
elements  upon  the  tensile  strength,  notwithstanding  that  in  this 
field  there  are  still  some  things  to  learn. 


PART   II. 
THE  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PBIMITIVE   METHODS   OF   MAKING  IRON. 

Iron  ore  is  natural  iron  rust.  It  is  a  combination  of  iron  and 
oxygen,  and  if  we  take  away  the  oxygen  the  iron  is  left  alone.  If 
a  large  heap  of  charcoal  be  set  on  fire  and  urged  by  a  hand  bellows, 
and  if  iron  ore  be  added  to  the  heap,  the  oxygen  of  the  ore  will 
combine  with  the  charcoal,  while  the  metallic  iron  will  separate 
in  pasty  globules.  The  temperature  of  such  fire  will  not  be  high 
enough  to  melt  the  iron ;  it  will  not  even  be  high  enough  to  cause 
the  iron  to  absorb  a  considerable  quantity  of  carbon  and  thereby 
become  pig-iron,  but  it  will  be  high  enough  to  cause  the  pasty 
globules  to  stick  or  weld  together.  In  this  way  for  thousands  of 
years  iron  was  made  all  over  the  world.  Here  and  there  improve- 
ments were  made  by  protecting  and  confining  the  fire  by  brick  walls, 
either  in  a  hole  below  the  ground  or  in  a  furnace  above  the  level, 
and  sometimes  large  bellows  were  used,  driven  by  water  power, 
but  the  scale  of  working  was  always  small.  The  Catalan  forge, 
which  was  in  use  in  more  or  less  modified  form  in  every  country 
of  the  world,  was  nothing  but  a  hole  in  the  ground  about  two  feet 
square  and  two  feet  deep.  This  was  filled  with  charcoal  and  ore, 
sometimes  carefully  arranged  in  two  vertical  parallel  layers,  and 
sometimes  mixed  together;  a  blast  of  air  inclined  downward,  the 
tuyere  being  pushed  into  the  midst  of  the  mass,  completed  the 
apparatus.  In  America  this  rude  contrivance  was  used  quite  ex- 
tensively in  recent  years  for  making  charcoal  blooms;  in  1882  the 
output  was  48,000  tons  in  the  United  States,  and  as  late  as  1888 
it  was  14,000  tons. 

In  Germany  the  early  iron-makers  increased  the  size  of  the 
furnaces,  and  in  the  sixteenth  century  some  were  fifteen  feet  high 
and  five  feet  in  diameter,  but  the  pasty  ball  was  still  the  end  de- 
sired, and  the  whole  front  of  the  furnace  was  torn  out  each  time  to 
pull  out  the  mass,  which  was  then  forged  into  bars  of  wrought-iron. 
At  a  later  time,  possibly  in  the  sixteenth,  and  perhaps  not  till  the 

35 


36  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

seventeenth  century,  furnaces  were  built  as  much  as  twenty-five 
feet  high,  and  thereby  a  temperature  was  sometimes  obtained  high 
enough  to  cause  the  pasty  iron  to  absorb  carbon  and  become  liquid. 
When  this  was  done,  the  blast  furnace  was  born,  and  the  world 
came  into  possession  of  a  new  metal — pig-iron — meaning  by  this 
term  that  iron  sponge  has  been  exposed  at  a  high  temperature  to 
carbon  and  to  the  earthy  components  of  ore  and  fuel,  and  by  virtue 
of  this  high  temperature  has  absorbed  about  four  per  cent,  by  weight 
of  carbon  and  certain  proportions  of  silicon,  phosphorus  and  sul- 
phur, etc.  These  elements,  especially  carbon,  make  the  iron  more 
fusible,  so  that  it  can  be  cast  in  forms,  and  also  make  it  brittle  as 
compared  with  wrought-iron.  Some  of  the  pig-iron  made  in  early 
times  was  used  for  castings,  but  a  great  proportion  was  worked 
into  wrought-iron  in  almost  the  same  kind  of  hearth  that  has  just 
been  described  for  making  iron  directly  from  the  ore.  The  pig 
was  melted  down  with  charcoal  and  exposed  to  the  air  blast,  both 
during  fusion  and  afterward.  The  same  pasty  mass  was  produced, 
but  the  output  of  a  fire  was  greatly  increased  by  having  pig-iron 
instead  of  ore. 

This  whole  system  of  iron-making  is  primitive,  and  is  wasteful 
of  labor  and  fuel.  Moreover,  it  is  necessary  that  charcoal  be  used, 
because  all  coal  and  coke  contains  sulphur,  and  when  the  fuel  is 
in  contact  with  the  iron  for  a  long  time,  as  in  the  old  hearths,  this 
sulphur  will  be  absorbed  by  the  iron,  and  the  product  will  be  red- 
short  and  worthless.  Charcoal  contains  no  sulphur,  so  that  the 
old  furnaces  could  work  at  low  temperatures  and  long  exposures. 
In  modern  blast  furnaces,  where  coke  is  the  almost  universal  fuel, 
it  is  necessary  to  carry  regularly  a  higher  temperature  than  an  old 
charcoal  furnace  ever  knew.  The  following  pages  will  not  discuss 
the  making  of  iron  in  the  old  sinking  fires,  because  modern 
metallurgy  counts  this  as  a  special  process,  and  recognizes  as 
standard  only  the  making  of  pig-iron  in  a  blast  furnace,  while  the 
crucible,  the  open-hearth  furnace  and  the  Bessemer  vessel  convert 
this  into  steel. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  BLAST   FURNACE. 

SECTION  Ha. — General  description. — A  modern  blast  furnace  is 
a  cylinder  lined  with  fire  brick,  about  90  feet  high  and  about  20 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  largest  place.  This  furnace  is  filled  with  a 
mixture  of  coke,  iron  ore  and  limestone,  and  air  is  blown  in  near 
the  bottom  through  openings  called  tuyeres.  The  coke  is  par- 
tially burned  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  tuyeres,  but 
only  partially;  it  forms  a  gas,  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  and  this  gas 
rising  through  the  ore  in  the  upper  part  of  the  furnace  robs  it  of 
its  oxygen,  and  reduces  the  iron  to  the  metallic  state.  The  air 
blown  into  the  furnace  is  first  heated  to  a  dull  red  heat  by  passing 
it  through  stoves,  these  stoves  being  previously  heated  by  burning 
in  them  the  gases  escaping  from  the  top  of  the  furnace;  only  a 
part  of  these  gases  is  needed  for  heating  the  air,  the  remainder 
being  used  under  boilers  for  the  generation  of  steam.  As  the  air 
is  red  hot  when  it  enters  the  tuyeres,  and  as  it  immediately  meets 
glowing  coke,  a  very  high  temperature  is  created,  so  that  this  region 
immediately  about  the  tuyeres  is  called  the  "zone  of  fusion."  It  is 
here  that  the  real  melting  occurs,  but  much  of  the  reduction  of  the 
ore  to  the  state  of  metallic  iron  takes  place  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
furnace.  This  reduction  is  never  complete,  and  some  ore  reaches 
the  zone  of  fusion  in  a  nearly  raw  state ;  but  in  this  zone  the  high 
temperature  quickly  completes  all  reactions — the  ore  is  rapidly 
reduced,  the  earthy  impurities  unite  with  the  lime  and  are  fused 
into  slag,  while  the  metallic  iron  melts  and  is  collected  in  the  hearth 
below  the  tuyeres. 

Fig.  II-A  shows  a  modern  American  blast  furnace  provided  with 
water-cooled  plates  set  into  the  walls  of  the  lower  part  of  the  furnace 
to  prevent  the  wearing  away  of  the  walls,  thereby  preserving  the 
original  slope  and  size  of  the  bosh.  Fig.  II-B  shows  another  device 
used  at  Steelton  to  attain  the  same  end.  The  walls  of  the  bosh  are 
made  very  thin  and  are  enclosed  in  a  tight  boiler-iron  casing,  against 

37 


38 


METALLURGY   OF   IRON  AND   STEEL. 


which  water  is  constantly  played.    The  cooling  effect  penetrates  the 
thin  brickwork,  while  the  cooled  iron  shell  alone  is  competent  to 


FIG.  II-A. — BLAST  FURNACE  AT  JONES  &  LAUGHLINS, 
PITTSBURG^  PA. 

withstand  the  erosion  of  the  stock,  even  if  the  brickwork  be  worn 
away.    A  furnace  in  proper  condition  tends  to  deposit  carbon  upon 


THE   BLAST    FURNACE. 


40  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

the  walls,  so  that  even  if  a  patch  of  lining  is  carried  away,  the  ioss 
is  restored  by  the  furnace  itself  by  a  carbon  lining  upon  the  cold 
plate. 

Half  a  century  ago  there  were  few  furnaces  in  the  world  as  much 
as  50  feet  high,  but  it  was  found  that  an  increase  to  70  feet  saved 
fuel  and  increased  the  output.  It  was  natural  to  assume  that  a 
greater  height  would  insure  greater  economies,  and  during  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  there  has  been  a  race  in  Eastern  America 
to  build  the  biggest  furnace  and  turn  out  the  most  iron.  In  1875 
a  big  furnace  was  80  feet  high  and  made  100  tons  per  day.  Now 
there  are  stacks  100  feet  high,  making  600  tons.  It  is  probable  that 
this  is  the  commercial  limit  of  size,  not  on  account  of  inability  to 
operate  a  larger  furnace,  but  because  in  a  steel  works  it  is  more 
convenient  to  have  six  furnaces,  makifig  400  tons  per  day,  than  to 
have  four  furnaces  making  600  tons,  as  an  accident  to  one  unit 
causes  less  interruption  to  tributary  departments.  It  is  also  found 
that,  on  Lake  Superior  ores,  little  is  gained  by  increasing  the 
height  beyond  90  feet. 

SEC.  lib. — Ore. — Three  kinds  of  ore  are  used  in  the  making 
of  iron:  (1)  hematites,  (2)  carbonates  and  (3)  magnetites.  They 
never  occur  in  a  pure  state,  being  mixed  with  earthy  materials,  but 
in  discussing  their  composition  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  iron 
mineral  by  itself.  > 

(1)  Hematite  (Fe203)  contains  exactly  70  per  cent,  of  iron,  but 
in  addition  to  ordinary  earthy  impurities  it  carries  water  of  crys- 
tallization in  amounts  up  to  20  per  cent.  When  the  proportion  of 
this  water  is  low  the  ore  is  called  a  "red"  or  "brown"  hematite, 
while  the  hydrous  varieties  are  called  "soft"  hematites,  or  "limo- 
nites,"  although  this  latter  term  should  only  be  applied  to  bog 
ores  containing  about  20  per  cent.  This  water  of  crystallization 
can  only  be  removed  by  heating  the  ore  nearly  to  a  red  heat. 
Oolite  is  a  variety  of  hematite  composed  of  small  spherical  grains, 
each  grain  being  a  kernel  of  foreign  matter  surrounded  by  iron 
ore.  When  the  foreign  matter  is  silica,  as  in  some  places  in 
Alabama,  the  ore  is  well  nigh  worthless,  but  when  it  is  partly  lime, 
as  in  the  Minette  district  of  Germany  and  Luxemburg,  the  ore  is 
"self-fluxing."  If  such  an  ore  carries  40  per  cent,  of  iron  and 
sufficient  lime  so  that  no  stone  is  needed  in  the  furnace,  it  is  as 
valuable  as  an  ore  with  50  per  cent,  of  iron  and  no  lime.  It  is 


THE   BLAST   FURNACE.  41 

necessary  to  keep  this  fact  in  mind  in  considering  the  results 
obtained  in  Western  Germany  from  ores  running  under  35  per  cent, 
in  iron. 

Bed  hematite  is  the  most  desirable  of  all  iron  ores.  Most  of  the 
Lake  Superior  deposits  are  of  this  variety,  and  they  alone  supply 
as  much  ore  as  comes  from  any  other  one  country,  while  the  Bilbao 
region  in  Spain,  the  Minette  district  of  Lothringen  and  Luxemburg, 
the  West  Coast  of  England  and  the  beds  of  Alabama,  all  mine 
the  same  mineral  and  are  of  world-wide  importance.  Of  lesser 
interest  are  the  deposits  in  the  basin  of  the  Don  in  Southern  Eussia, 
the  southeast  coast  of  Cuba,  the  Tafna  beds  in  Algeria  and  the 
Bell  Island  mines  in  Newfoundland. 

(2)  Carbonate   (FeC03),  called  also  spathic  ore,  black  band, 
clay  iron  stone,  etc.,  contains  48.3  per  cent,  of  iron.    Very  little  is 
used  in  the  United  States,  Jbtrt  it  is  the  basis  of  the  great  Cleveland 
district  near  Middlesborough,  England,  and  of  the  iron  industry  of 
Bohemia  and  Styria,  and  is  produced  in  large  quantities  in  Hun- 
gary and  Spain.    In  former  days  the  Spanish  mines  rejected  this 
ore  as  inferior,  but  it  is  now  mined  extensively.     Almost  every- 
where spathic  ore  is  roasted.    The  kilns  are  such  as  are  used  for 
limestone,  and  sometimes  coal  is  mixed  with  the  ore,  while  at  other 
places  tunnel  head  gases  are  used  for  fuel.       The  fuel  needed  is 
less  than  might  be  supposed,  from  75  to  100  pounds  of  coal  per 
ton  of  ore  being  the  usual  practice,  because  the  expulsion  of  the 
carbonic  acid  leaves  the  iron  in  the  form  of  FeO,  and  this  burns 
to  Fe203,  so  that  for  every  ton  of  raw  ore  the  burning  of  the  iron 
produces  an  amount  of  heat  equal  to  what  would  be  produced  by 
35  pounds  of  coal. 

(3)  Magnetite  (Fe304)  contains  72.41  per  cent,  of  iron.  It  is 
strongly  attracted  by  the  magnet,  while  other  iron  ores  are  only 
slightly  influenced  by  strong  currents.    It  is  currently  believed  that 
more  fuel  is  required  for  smelting  magnetite  than  for  hematite, 
but  recent  results  with  Swedish  magnetic  ores  in  German  and  Aus- 
trian furnaces  indicate  that  the  difficulties  may  have  been  over- 
rated.   Magnetite  is  found  in  enormous  quantities  in  central  and 
northern  Sweden  and  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  United  States. 
In  both  countries  there  are  some  rich  beds,  and  some  of  great  extent 
that  are  lean  in  iron.    Within  the  last  few  years  great  strides  have 
been  made  in  the  concentration  of  these  ores,  both  in  Sweden  and 


43  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

America.  Given  a  large  tract  of  land  with  a  deposit  of  40  per  cent, 
magnetite,  and  assuming  that  it  can  be  bought  for  such  a  sum  that 
the  cost  per  ton  of  ore  is  nominal,  and  assuming  that  cheap  trans- 
portation to  market  is  assured,  it  is  then  possible  to  crush  and  con- 
centrate, obtaining  a  product  running,  say,  65  per  cent,  in  iron,  and 
compete  with  ores  that  are  burdened  with  a  heavy  royalty  at  the 
mine  and  a  large  transportation  charge.  The  stumbling-block 
which  has  prevented  the  development  of  magnetic  concentration  is 
making  the  fine  concentrate  into  bricks.  This  problem  seems  now 
to  be  solved  either  by  using  a  rotary  furnace  to  clinker  the  con- 
centrate, or  by  pressing  into  bricks  without  water,  and  heating 
these  bricks  in  a  continuous  furnace  until  the  particles  are  stuck 
together,  but  not  fused. 

It  seems  certain  that  work  will  be  done  in  the  future  on  the  con- 
centration of  lean  magnetites  in  New  Jersey,  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  but  the  cost  of  the  operation  is  so  great  that  only 
favored  localities  can  look  forward  to  a  profitable  enterprise.  Many 
deposits,  both  in  Sweden  and  in  New  York,  are  contaminated  with 
titanium,  and  concentration  cannot  be  regarded  as  successful  unless 
this  is  eliminated.  Titaniferous  ores  have  been  worked  in  small 
quantities  for  generations,  but  every  attempt  to  employ  them  upon 
a  large  scale,  especially  in  the  manufacture  of  steel,  has  been  a 
failure.  A  favorite  argument  in  favor  of  titanium  is  the  use  of 
Taberg  ores  in  Sweden.  It  may  be  well,  therefore,  to  say  that  there 
are  two  Taberg  deposits:  one  a  good  ore  with  no  titanium;  the 
other,  the  famous  Iron  Mountain,  carrying  31  per  cent,  iron  and 
6  per  cent,  of  titanium  oxide.  This  latter  ore  has  been  worked  in 
the  past,  but  operations  dwindled  until  in  1892  only  50  tons  were 
mined.  The  mountain  is  still  there,  but  it  is  untroubled  by  a  pick. 

SEC.  lie. — Fuel. — Charcoal  was  the  almost  universal  fuel 
a  century  ago,  but  to-day  it  is  only  in  Sweden  and  in  the  Ural 
Mountains  that  it  is  the  base  of  a  great  industry;  in  both  these 
places  it  is  the  only  fuel  available.  In  the  United  States  the  output 
of  charcoal  iron  is  insignificant  compared  with  coke  iron,  but  we 
make  two-thirds  as  much  as  Sweden,  and  the  amount  is  increas- 
ing year  by  year  in  answer  to  a  demand  for  an  iron  of  great  tough- 
ness and  wearing  qualities,  the  car-wheel  trade  absorbing  most  of 
the  output.  A  large  share  of  the  product  in  this  country  is  made  in 
Michigan,  and  the  charcoal  is  a  by-product  from  chemical  works. 


THE   BLAST    FURNACE.  43 

Ordinary  wood  when  dry  contains  about  50  per  cent,  water;  after 
distillation  the  charcoal  carries  85  to  90  per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  a 
bushel,  American  official  rating,  is  1.59  cubic  feet  and  weighs  20 
pounds.  In  Sweden  the  weight  is  much  less.  The  consumption  of 
charcoal  is  reported  in  Sweden  as  low  as  1550  pounds  per  ton  of 
iron.  One  furnace  in  America  reports  1760  pounds  and  an  output 
of  1000  tons  per  week. 

Anthracite  is  used  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  but  to  much  less 
extent  than  is  usually  supposed,  as  the  statistics  tabulate,  as  an 
anthracite  furnace,  one  that  occasionally  employs  hard  coal  as  a 
portion  of  the  charge.  In  South  Russia,  anthracite  is  also  used  in 
limited  measure,  but  other  countries  call  by  that  name  a  coal  which, 
in  the  United  States,  would  be  classed  as  a  hard  bituminous.  In 
Scotland  raw  coal  is  charged  because  the  so-called  Scotch  splint 
coal  contains  only  a  small  proportion  of  volatile  matter. 

Coke  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  standard  fuel.  It  must  be  firm 
and  strong  to  resist  crushing  in  the  furnace,  and  porous  so  as  to 
burn  rapidly;  it  should  have  less  than  12  per  cent,  of  ash  and  less 
than  1.0  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  and  less  than  .02  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phorus if  the  pig  iron  is  to  be  used  in  making  acid  steel.  The 
best  coke  comes  from  Durham,  on  the  northeast  coast  of  England, 
from  Connellsville  in  Pennsylvania,  and  from  Westphalia  in  west- 
ern Germany. 

SEC.  lid. — Amount  of  ore  and  fuel  required. — If  the  ore 
charged  in  a  furnace  contains  60  per  cent,  of  iron  it  will  take  just 
one  and  two-thirds  tons  to  make  one  ton  of  metallic  iron,  but  as 
pig-iron  contains  silicon,  carbon,  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  one 
ton  of  pig-iron  can  be  made  from  one  and  two-thirds  tons  of  ore 
containing  only  55  per  cent,  of  iron  if  much  phosphorus  is  present, 
or  57  per  cent,  if  the  phosphorus  is  low.  It  requires  about  one  ton 
of  coke  to  smelt  this  ton  of  iron,  sometimes  less,  sometimes  more. 
If  too  little  fuel  is  used  the  furnace  is  cold,  the  iron  is  high  in 
sulphur,  the  slag  is  not  fluid  and  the  hearth  "chills."  If  too  much 
is  used  the  iron  is  high  in  silicon,  and  the  hot  zone  of  -fusion,  in- 
stead of  being  confined  to  a  small  area  near  the  tuyeres,  extends  up- 
ward, fusing  the  stock  and  making  it  stick  to  the  walls,  thus  causing 
irregular  working. 

SEC.  lie. — Limestone. — In  operating  a  blast  furnace  a  certain 
amount  of  limestone  is  necessary.  As  the  stone  sinks  with  the  rest 


44  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

of  the  stock  it  becomes  red  hot,  whereupon  the  carbonic  acid  is 
expelled,  as  in  an  ordinary  lime  kiln,  and  the  burned  lime  descends 
to  unite  with  the  silica,  which  is  present  in  the  ore  and  in  the  ash 
of  the  coke.  Without  this  lime  the  silicious  material  would  scarcely 
be  fusible,  but  when  the  proper  quantity  is  added  the  lime,  silica  and 
earthy  constituents  of  ore  and  ash  unite  to  form  a  fusible  slag  that 
flows  readily  from  the  cinder  notch.  The  proper  proportion  of  lime- 
stone depends  upon  the  impurities  in  the  ore,  in  the  coke  and  in 
the  stone  itself.  Some  furnaces  run  on  a  mixture  of  ores  averag- 
ing not  over  6  per  cent,  of  silica,,  while  other  furnaces  average  10 
per  cent.  The  stone  itself  varies  in  different  localities  from  1  to  6 
per  cent,  in  silica,  while  the  percentage  of  ash  in  the  coke  may  be 
anywhere  from  6  to  15  per  cent.  A  furnace  running  on  silicious 
ores  and  limestone  and  a  poor  coke  will  need  twice  as  much  lime- 
stone as  one  carrying  good  ore  and  fuel,  while  with  such  poor 
material  more  fuel  will  be  required  and  twice  as  much  slag  pro- 
duced. An  important  duty  of  the  lime  after  it  has  been  fused  into 
slag  is  to  carry  away  the  sulphur  in  the  coke.  Much  difference  of 
opinion  exists  as  to  the  proper  and  possible  chemical  composition  of 
blast-furnace  slags.  Eoughly,  it  may  be  said  that  the  silica  should 
be  between  30  and  40  per  cent,  and  the  lime  between  40  and  50 
per  cent.,  and  that  when  the  slag  is  made  more  basic  the  tempera- 
ture must  be  raised,  as  each  increase  in  lime  raises  the  melting 
point. 

SEC.  Ilf. — The  use  of  burned  lime. — In  100  pounds  of  pure 
limestone  there  are  56  pounds  of  CaO  and  44  pounds  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  (C02).  As  soon  as  the  stone  reaches  a  red  heat  in  the 
blast  furnace  this  C02  is  driven  off  and  rises  through  the  overlying 
stock,  some  of  it  uniting  with  the  coke  according  to  the  following 
reaction : 

C02+C=2  CO. 

This  shows  that  every  pound  of  carbon  in  the  stone  carries  away  a 
pound  of  carbon  from  the  coke ;  that  if  a  thousand  pounds  of  stone 
be  used  to  one  ton  of  coke,  then  6  per  cent,  of  all  the  fuel  is  destroyed 
by  the  stone,  while  if  twice  that  amount  of  stone  be  charged,  then 
12  per  cent  is  lost.  To  prevent  this  waste,  some  furnaces  in  Mid- 
dlesborough,  England,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  have  calcined  the  stone 
before  charging,  and  there  are  papers  on  record  showing  a  very  con- 


THE   BLAST    FURNACE.  45 

siderable  gain  in  fuel,*  but  it  is  a  matter  of  great  doubt  whether 
there  is  any  important  saving  in  the  long  run.  The  Middlesbor- 
ough  furnaces  should  profit  more  than  others,  as  they  carry  twice 
as  much  stone  as  most  American  furnaces,  but  the  practice  has 
made  little  headway  in  that  district.  One  reason  for  the  failure 
is  that  the  ordinary  methods  of  burning  lime  do  not  expel  all  the 
gas,  so  that  only  a  part  of  the  benefit  can  be  expected.  Another 
reason  lies  in  the  fact  that  when  burned  lime  is  put  into  the  blast 
furnaces  it  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  carbonic  acid  gas  (C02),  and, 
although  this  gas  is  expelled  from  stone  at  a  red  heat,  it  is  absorbed 
again  at  a  lower  temperature,  so  that  immediately  after  being 
charged  into  the  furnace,  this  burned  lime  reverts  to  the  condition 
^of  limestone,  which  sinks  down  with  the  charge  and  acts  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  it  had  never  been  burned. 

SEC.  Tig. — The  blast. — On  another  page,  under  the  discussion  of 
Tunnel  Head  Gases,  are  given  calculations  on  the  amount  of  air 
needed  for  a  furnace  and  on  the  heat  required  to  bring  it  to  the 
desired  temperature.  In  America,  a  temperature  of  1000°  to  1100° 
P.  is  often  considered  sufficient,  and  on  Mesabi  ores  a  higher 
heat  is  believed  to  give  trouble  from  slips.  In  foreign  countries 
higher  temperatures  are  maintained.  It  is  a  common  practice 
abroad  to  have  several  furnaces  on  one  common  air  main,  but  the 
modern  method  is  to  have  an  independent  engine  for  each  furnace 
in  order  that  a  constant  quantity  of  air  be  forced  into  the  tuyeres 
without  any  regard  to  the  resistance  caused  by  internal  conditions. 
.Let  it  be  arbitrarily  assumed  that  a  coke  fire  with  cold  blast  will 
give  a  temperature  of  2500°  F.,  and  that  if  the  blast  be  heated  to 
1000°  F.  a  temperature  of  2900°  F.  will  be  obtained.  If,  then,  it  is 
necessary  to  melt  100  pounds  of  a  metal  that  fuses  at  2700°  F.,  it 
might  be  possible  to  do  so  with  100  pounds  of  coke  with  hot  blast, 
when  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  it  at  all  with  cold  blast.  In  this 
case  the  heating  of  the  air  to  1000°  F.  has  worked  a  revolution  in 
fuel  economy,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  an  increase  to  1100° 
or  1200°  will  save  much  more,  for  if  1000°  is  sufficient  for  the 
work  in  hand,  an  increase  beyond  that  point  may  be  of  little  value. 

These  arbitrary  assumptions  illustrate  the  use  of  hot  blast  in 
furnaces,  for  it  was  the  first  step  that  produced  the  revolution  by 
obtaining  a  temperature  that  changed  all  the  operating  conditions. 

*Journal  I.  &  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1898.  p.  69. 


46  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Heating  the  blast  to  800°  F.  resulted  in  a  great  saving  of  fuel;  a 
further  heating  to  1400°  F.  made  a  further  saving,  but  much  less 
than  might  be  expected ;  while  an  increase  to  1800°  F.  may  not  be 
justified  unless  the  ore  is  reduced  with  difficulty. 

SEC.  Ilh. — The  temperature  attained  by  hot  Hast. — The  tem- 
perature of  any  fire  may  be  found  by  dividing  the  sum  total  of 
heat  present  by  the  specific  heat  of  the  resulting  products.  We 
use  the  heat  present  and  not  the  heat  produced,  because  the  pro- 
duction of  heat  from  one  kilogramme  of  coke  is  the  same  whether 
hot  or  cold  air  is  used,  but  with  hot  air  the  amount  present  is 
greater  by  just  the  quantity  contained  in  the  air.  The  specific 
heat  of  the  coke  will  also  be  greater  when  hot  blast  is  used.  The 
specific  heat  of  gases  varies  with  the  temperature :  at  0°  C.  it  takes 
0.306  calories  to  heat  one  cubic  meter  of  air  1°  C.,  but  at  2000°  C. 
it  takes  0.360  calories.  The  formulae  for  finding  the  specific  heat 
of  some  ordinary  gases  are  as  follows,  the  temperatures  being  Centi- 
grade and  the  results  in  calories: 

N,   CO,   0   and  H=0.306+0.000027t 
C0a=0.374+0-000m 

The  specific  heat  of  carbon  above  1000°  C.  is  0.5,  but  below  1000° 
C.  it  is  less,  so  that  the  total  heat  in  1  kg.  of  carbon  at  t°  (when  t  is 
above  1000°)  is  approximately  0.5 — 120.  Assuming  the  value  of  1 
kg.  carbon  as  2450  calories  when  burned  to  CO,  as  is  the  case  at  the 
tuyeres  of  a  blast  furnace,  the  calculation  for  a  temperature  of 
1000°  F.=540°  C.  will  be  as  follows: 

1  kg.  C+4.47  c.m.  air=1.87  c.m.  CO+3.53  c.m.  N 
Heat  in  air  4.47  X  .320  X  540=  772 

Heat  in  carbon  0.5t —  120 

Heat  in  carbon  and  air  0.5t+  652 

Heat  from  combustion  2450 

Total  heat  in  5.40  c.m.  of  products  0.5t-f3102 

Heat  in  1  c.m.  .0926t+574.1 

.0926t-f574.1 

Therefore,  t= =2122 

0.306+.000027t 


THE   BLAST    FURNACE. 


4? 


When  the  air  is  0°  C.  the  temperature  of  the  fire  is  about  1560° 
C.,  while  if  the  blast  is  1000°  C.  it  will  be  2400°  C.  Each  increase 
of  100°  in  the  temperature  of  the  air  raises  the  resulting  tempera- 
ture about  80°,  whether  the  scale  be  Centigrade  or  Fahrenheit. 

SEC.  Hi. — Vapor  in  the  atmosphere. — Accompanying  are  the 
weather  records  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  the  figures  being  averages  of 
the  years  1901,  1902  and  1903.  The  climate  is  representative  of 
the  northeastern  portion  of  the  United  States.  The  year  is 
divided  into  the  "wet"  half  and  the  "dry"  half.  The  percentage 
of  humidity  is  about  the  same  in  winter  as  in  summer,  but  the 
-actual  amount  of  moisture  in  the  warm  or  wet  half  of  the  year 
is  about  three  times  as  much  as  in  the  cold  or  dry  half,  while  in 
July  the  content  is  nearlv  six  times  as  much  as  in  February. 


Dry  half. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

April. 

Av'ge. 

Tempe  rature 

42 

30 

29 

28 

44 

51 

37 

Humidity,  per  cent  

70 

76 

74 

69 

69 

62 

70 

Grains  per  cubic  foot  : 
•Saturation    .  ... 

3  08 

1  gg 

1  91 

1  83 

3  34 

4  26 

2  73 

Actual 

2  16 

1  50 

1  41 

1  26 

2  30 

2  64 

1  88 

Wet  half. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Av'ge. 

Temperature 

62 

68 

76 

71 

65 

55 

66 

Humiditv,  per  cent  

64 

71 

74 

79 

77 

72 

73 

Grains  per  cubic  foot  : 
Saturation 

6  17 

7  60 

9  79 

8  31 

6  88 

4  92 

7  28 

Actual  

3  95 

5  40 

7  24 

6  56 

5  30 

3  54 

5  33 

This  moisture,  when  blown  into  the  blast  furnace,  is  decomposed, 
one  kg.  of  water  forming  1-9  kg.  of  hydrogen  and  8-9  kg. 
of  oxygen.  This  decomposition  absorbs  a  quantity  of  heat  equal 
to  that  produced  by  burning  a  similar  weight  of  hydrogen= 
30000 
=3333  calories.  On  the  other  hand,  the  oxygen  set  free  unites 

9 
-with  the  coke. 

8-9=0.89  kg.  0+0.67  kg.  C=1.56  kg.  CO 

producing  1650  calories,  the  net  absorption  being  3333 — 1650= 
1683  calories  per  kilogram  or  3030  B.t.u.  per  pound  of  water 
vapor  admitted.  This  absorption  of  heat  immediately  in  front  of 
the  tuyeres  must  be  compared  with  the  creation  of  heat  at  the 


48 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


same  spot,  and  the  combustion  in  that  portion  of  the  furnace  is 
the  union  of  carbon  with  oxygen  to  form  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  so 
that  one  kilogram  of  carbon  produces  2450  calories,  and  one 
kilogram  of  coke  2080  calories.  One  kilogram  of  water  there- 
fore absorbs  as  much  heat  as  is  produced  by  1683^-2080=0.8  kg.  of 
coke,  and  one  pound  of  water=0.8  pounds  of  coke. 

The  importance  of  removing  the  vapor  in  the  air  has  long  been 
admitted,  but  it  is  only  recently  that  it  has  actually  been  done. 
In  the  Journal  I.  &  S.  I.]  Vol.  II,  1904,  Gayley  describes  the  re- 
sults obtained  by  passing  the  air  through  a  refrigerating  chamber 
and  cooling  it  to  25°  or  30°  F.  The  air  coming  from  this  chamber 
is  necessarily  saturated,  so  that  the  gain  is  not  as  much  as  might  at 
first  sight  be  expected.  Thus  if  an  atmosphere  of  36°  F.  and  70  per 
cent,  humidity,  such  as  is  often  found  in  winter,  be  cooled  to  27°  F., 
there  will  be  no  deposition  of  moisture,  as  we  will  merely  have  air  of 
27°  F.  and  100  per  cent,  humidity,  but  the  cooling  of  the  air  in 
summer  precipitates  large  quantities  of  water.  In  the  conditions 
above  given  for  July,  with  76°  F.  and  74  per  cent,  humidity,  the 
process  of  cooling  to  27°  F.  would  remove  three-quarters  of  all  the 


Grains  of  water  per  cubic  foot  of  air. 

Per  cent.         Humidity. 

Temper- 
ature. 

100 

70 

40 

0 
12 

0.51 
O.fe 

0.36 
0.60 

0.20 
0.34 

22 

1.35 

0.95 

0.54 

32 

2.08 

1.46 

0.83 

42 

3.08 

2.16 

1.23 

52 

4.50 

3.15 

1.80 

62 

6.17 

4.32 

2.47 

72 

9.24 

6.47 

3.70 

82 

12.99 

9.09 

5.20 

92 

18.09 

12.66 

7.24 

102 

25.00 

17.50 

10.00 

moisture.  Gayley  states  that  for  13  days  an  average  of  69 
pounds  of  water  were  removed  from  the  blast  per  ton  of  iron.  It 
has  been  shown  that  according  to  theory  1  pound  of  water=0.8 
pound  of  coke,  so  that  the  above  precipitation  represents  a  saving 
of  55  pounds  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron;  but  this  theoretical  heat 
valuation  is  only  a  part  of  the  problem,  for  a  more  important  mat- 
ter is  the  attainment  of  regular  conditions.  It  is  essential  that  a 


THE   BLAST   FURNACE.  49 

blast  furnace  shall  not  get  cold,  and  in  ordinary  practice  this  can 
only  be  prevented  by  carrying  a  slight  excess  of  fuel  to  allow 
for  variations  in  the  air  and  in  the  burden.  When  the  greater 
variable — the  air — is  made  a  constant  from  hour  to  hour,  the 
excess  may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  amount  of  water  in  the  air  at  different  temperatures  and  at 
different  degrees  of  humidity  is  given  herewith  (see  page  48). 

SEC.  IIj. — Metallurgical  conditions. — In  a  charcoal  blast  fur- 
nace no  sulphur  exists  in  the  fuel,  and  if  there  is  none  in  the  ore 
the  only  problem  is  to  smelt  the  iron  and  to  have  a  cinder  fluid 
enough  to  carry  away  the  earthy  materials  and  not  fluid  enough  to 
attack  the  linicg.  When  coke  is  the  fuel,  a  more  basic  slag  is 
needed  to  hold  the  sulphur,  and  a  higher  temperature  to  keep  this 
slag  fluid.  With  too  little  fuel  the  slag  will  not  run  freely,  and  the 
iron  will  be  high  in  sulphur,  while  with  too  much  fuel  the  iron  will 
be  high  in  silicon  and  the  furnace  will  tend  to  stick  and  hang. 
In  short,  the  daily  work  of  the  furnaceman  is  to  remove  sulphur 
with  the  least  amount  of  fuel.  Many  metallurgical  conditions  are 
involved  in  this  problem,  among  which  are  the  following : 


(1)  The  amount  of  slag. 

(2)  The  composition  of  the  slag. 

(3)  The  temperature  of  the  furnace. 


(1)  Amount  of  slag : 

In  case  the  ore  is  very  pure,  say  with  only  two  per  cent,  of  silica, 
and  the  coke  and  stone  are  moderately  low  in  silica,  then  it  does 
not  suffice  to  add  just  enough  lime  to  satisfy  the  silica,  because  not 
enough  cinder  will  be  produced  to  carry  away  the  sulphur  of  the 
coke,  so  that  silicious  materials  or  impure  ores  must  be  added.  The 
same  course  of  procedure  may  be  necessary  even  in  moderately 
silicious  ores,  when  they  contain  abnormal  amounts  of  sulphur. 

(2)  Composition  of  ihe  slag: 

The  basis  of  every  cinder  is  silicate  of  lime,  the  silica  coming 
from  the  ore  and  ash,  and  the  lime  from  the  stone,  but  there  are 
always  other  elements  present.  Alumina  and  magnesia  are  in- 
variably found  in  the  ore  or  in  the  stone,  or  in  both,  and  they 
constitute  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  slag,  and  vary  within 
wide  limits.  The  allowable  proportion  of  magnesia  is  in  doubt. 


50 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


Ledebur*  prefers  pure  limestone  to  those  containing  magnesia,  and 
Bellf  agrees  that  lime  has  an  affinity  for  sulphur,  whereas  magnesia 
has  little  or  none.  On  the  other  hand,  Phillips J  says  that  dolomite 
is  quite  as  efficient  as  limestone  and  more  so  when  low  sulphur  is 

TABLE  II-A. 
Composition   of  Blast  Furnace  Slags. 


Slag. 

Iron. 

Remarks.     • 

SiOa 

Ala08 

CaO 

MgO 

FeO 

S 

Total 
not  in- 
cluding 
S. 

Si 

S 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
It 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 

33  10 
32.27 
24  26 
32.68 
32.28 
34.50 
34.98 
34.70 
33.68 
29.86 
28.95 
30  62 
32.55 
30  08 
31.46 
36.08 
37.19 
36.86 
32.06 
33.57 
35.38 
36.35 
33.70 
35.11 
35.10 
35.84 

14.92 
14.57 
11.53 
13.50 
9.38 
7.94 
12.05 
11  44 
11.93 
12.04 
12  04 
10.47 
11.13 
11  44 
11.50 
12.85 
12.65 
10.74 
11.97 
10.65 
11.76 
10.21 
12.56 
14.21 
14.75 
14.34 

40.76 
41.02 
40.25 
43  28 
46.95 
46.47 
41.33 
41.27 
45.96 
45.20 
49.30 
49.13 
47.16 
46  36 
44.85 
41.69 
35.47 
42.46 
42.46 
44.11 
38.19 
40.10 
38  12 
28.41 
27.95 
32.71 

9.67 

10.30 
13.28 
9.44 
9.52 
10.47 
9.62 
9.96 
6.69 
11.41 
8  46 
7.49 
6.61 
8.76 
10.41 
7.25 
11.32 
6.62 
10.25 
8.55 
12.32 
10  95 
11.60 
22.38 
22  28 
17.46 

98.45 
98.16 
98.32 
9S.90 
98.13 
99  38 
97.98 
97  37 
98-26 
98.51 
98.75 
97.71 
97.45 
96.64 
98  22 
98.41 
97.53 
97.31 
97  37 
97.69 
98.53 
98.60 
98.30 
100.12 
100.08 
100.35 

3.37 
3.18 
4.81 
1.25 
0.70 
0.69 
2.60 
2.32 
1.27 
1.27 
.57 
.26 
.15 
.58 
.20 
2.15 
1.92 
1.50 
1.59 
0.94 
1.18 
0.66 
0.50 
1.37 
1.8R 
1.60 

tr. 
tr. 
.01 
.06 
.11 
.05 
.03 
.02 
.02 
.02 
tr. 
.02 
.03 
.03 
.07 
.020 
.029 
.028 
.032 
.017 
.040 
095 
.101 
.048 
.038 
.034 

Cuban  ore,  hot  f 
ii       i       it 
war 
cool 
(i       i          i< 

Spanish  ore,  hot 
"               coo 

A 

Lake  ore  and 
part  an- 
thracite 
coal  ;  most-  ' 
lyConnells- 
ville  coke. 

)  Lake  ore  and 
y    Connells-i 
j     villecoke. 

urnace. 
ii 
m 

furnace. 
1  furance. 

Hot  furnace. 
Fairly  hot. 

Normal. 
Cool. 

"Av.of  8  weeks 
"    7  weeks 
,      "    7  weeks 





.... 



0.54 
0.90 
0.63 
0.63 
0  81 
0.90 
0.99 
0.32 

1  62 
1.70 
1  54 
1.76 
1  74 
1.60 
1.28 
0  96 

Averages  for  hot  furnaces- 


Averages  for  moderate  or  cool  furnace— 


tr.  (Cuban  ore. 
.025  Spanish  ore. 
.020        " 
.027|Lakeore. 


Cuban  ore. 
.03  Spanish  ore. 
Lake  ore. 


NOTE— All  slags  are  from  Steelton  furnaces  except  Nos.  24,  25  and  26.    The  ore  mixture 
was  the  same  in  all  the  cases  where  Spanish  ore  vras  used. 

required.   Firmstone§  argues  that  under  certain  conditions  the  sul- 
nhur  is  reduced  hy  substituting  dolomite  for  limestone,  and  states 

*  Kaernther  Zeitschrift,  No.  2, 1881,  p.  53.  t  Manuf.  Iron  &  Steel,  p.  58. 

t  Iron  Making  in  Alabama ;  Ala.  Geol.  Survey,  1898,  p.  73. 
§  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  498. 


THE   BLAST   FURNACE.  51 

that  with  pure  lime  and  a  silica  content  of  39  to  40  per  cent,  the 
cinder  "slacked,"  but  with  dolomite  the  silica  could  be  reduced  to 
35  per  cent,  and  the  furnace  worked  better.  He  refers  to  various 
investigators  who  claim  that  a  high  content  of  magnesia  gives  rise 
to  the  production  of  spinel,  an  infusible  compound  of  alumina, 
lime  and  magnesia,  and  argues  that  the  formation  of  this  mineral 
depends  upon  the  presence  of  a  large  proportion  of  alumina,  as 
well  as  magnesia,  so  that  no  harm  will  result  from  20  per  cent,  of 
magnesia  in  the  slag  if  the  alumina  is  under  10  per  cent. 

In  regard  to  alumina,  it  is  stated  by  Elbers*  that  if  the  percent- 
age of  silica  be  low  it  acts  as  an  acid,  and  hence  increases  the 
fluidity  of  the  slag,  but  if  high  it  acts  as  a  base,  and  thus  lowers 
the  fusing  point.  Phillipst  says  that  in  every-day  practice  and 
with  slags  of  33  and  36  per  cent,  silica,  the  alumina  is  considered 
as  silica. 

Many  of  the  accurate  limitations  set  by  special  investigators 
after  a  limited  series  of  experiments  are  erroneous.  Thus  I  have 
the  slag  records  of  a  furnace  for  four  months,  where  the  cinder  was 
fairly  constant  and  averaged  as  follows,  in  per  cent, : 

Si02,  35        A1203,  14.5         CaO,  28        MgO,  22 

This  upsets  any  theory  that  high  alumina  and  high  magnesia  are 
incompatible.  In  the  same  way,  experiments  made  at  Steelton 
show  that  alumina  can  be  carried  above  35  per  cent,  with  perfect 
elimination  of  the  sulphur  and  good  working  of  the  furnace,  and 
it  appears  to  replace,  to  some  extent,  both  silica  and  lime,  and  may 
therefore  be  regarded  as  merely  passively  diluting  the  cinder.  This 
will  be  evident  from  the  following  series  of  slags,  arranged  in  order 
of  increasing  alumina.  Each  column  is  the  average  of  several 
casts  from  a  furnace  operating  for  over  a  week  on  an  aluminous 
burden. 

Si02 34        34        29        25 

A1203 10         16        27         33 

CaO  plus  MgO 54        45        40        39 

The  general  range  of  blast-furnace  slags  is  illustrated  in  Table 
II-A. 

*Berg-  und  Huttenmannische  Zeitung,  Vol.  XL VII,  p.  253. 
t  Ala.  Geol.  Survey,  1898,  p.  45. 


52  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

(3)   Temperature  of  the  furnace: 

The  elimination  of  sulphur  is  assisted  by  a  high  temperature; 
but  temperature  alone  is  not  sufficient,  for  with  a  silicious  slag  the 
iron  may  be  high  in  sulphur,  even  though  the  furnace  be  hot;  but 
any  particular  slag  will  carry  more  sulphur  with  a  hot  furnace 
than  when  the  hearth  is  cold.  Hence,  a  slag  which  is  quite  suitable 
for  a  hot  furnace  must  be  made  more  limey  if  the  temperature  is 
reduced,  or  the  iron  will  be  higher  in  sulphur.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  limey  slag  will  not  run  fluid  in  a  cool  furnace,  so  that  the  furnace- 
man  is  held  between  narrow  limits. 

It  is  essential  in  practice,  in  addition  to  the  removal  of  sulphur, 
that  the  content  of  silicon  in  the  iron  be  regulated.  This  can  be 
done  by  a  proper  control  of  the  temperature  and  of  the  slag.  A 
rise  in  temperature  gives  higher  silicon  in  the  iron,  because  the 
coke  has  then  a  greater  affinity  for  the  oxygen  of  the  silica  and  sets 
free  the  silicon.  On  the  other  hand,  an  increase  in  the  amount  of 
lime  gives  lower  silicon,  because  the  silica  is  needed  by  the  lime  to 
form  a  slag.  The  amount  of  silica  present  has  something  to  do 
with  the  result;  a  furnace  working  on  impure  ores  may  handle 
twice  the  weight  of  silica  per  ton  of  iron  that  is  carried  by  a  fur- 
nace on  a  rich  burden,  and  make  twice  the  weight  of  slag,  and 
with  this  greater  exposure  of  silica  to  reduction  the  tendency  will 
be  toward  a  higher  silicon  in  the  iron.  The  control  of  the  silicon 
and  the  control  of  the  sulphur  constitute  two  problems,  quite  sepa- 
rate from  one  another,  and  yet  closely  related.  The  determining 
conditions  may  be  grouped  under  four  general  divisions : 

(1)  An  iron  with  high  silicon  and  low  sulphur  is  made  by  run- 
ning the  furnace  at  a  high  temperature  with  a  slag  sufficiently  basic 
to  hold  the  sulphur,  but  not  basic  enough  to  keep  silicon  from  be- 
ing reduced. 

(2)  An  iron  with  low  silicon  and  low  sulphur  is  made  by  using 
a  lower  temperature  with  a  somewhat  more  basic  slag,  or  a  high 
temperature  with  a  much  more  basic  slag. 

(3)  An  iron  with  low  silicon  and  high  sulphur  is  made  by  using 
a  low  temperature  with  a  slag  not  sufficiently  basic. 

(4)  An  iron  with  high  silicon  and  high  sulphur  is  made  by  using 
a  high  temperature  with  a  slag  not  sufficiently  basic. 

The  presence  of  manganese  complicates  the  metallurgy  of  the  fur- 
nace, but  does  not  change  any  of  the  foregoing  laws.  An  acid  slag 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  53 

carries  away  considerable  manganese,  but  if  the  cinder  is  basic 
most  of  the  manganese  is  reduced  and  appears  in  the  iron.  In  the 
making  of  spiegel  iron  and  ferro-manganese,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
a  strongly  limey  cinder  to  prevent  waste  of  manganese,  so  that  the 
silicon  is  usually  low  in  these  alloys.  It  is  possible,  however,  by 
special  care,  to  make  a  silico-spiegel  with  as  much  as  11  per  cent, 
of  silicon  and  18  per  cent,  of  manganese,  this  being  used  as  a 
recarburizer  in  steel  making. 

I/  SEC.  Ilk.* — Chemical  reactions. — A  blast  furnace  may  be  looked 
upon  as  a  colossal  gas  producer,  in  which  there  is  a  column  of 
coke  70  ft.  high  ranging  in  temperature  from  a  white  heat  at  the 
tuyeres  to  a  black  heat  at  the  tunnel  head.  As  soon  as  the  air 
strikes  the  white-hot  coke  there  is  an  immediate  formation  of  car- 
bonic acid,  followed  by  an  instantaneous  reaction,  by  which  the 
carbonic  acid  so  produced  unites  with  more  carbon  to  form  carbonic 
oxide.  This  reaction  is  consummated  quickly  and  with  thorough- 
ness, so  that  if  the  furnace  held  only  coke,  the  gas  from  the  top 
would  be  almost  entirely  carbonic  oxide  and  nitrogen ;  but  the  fur- 
nace contains  also  iron  oxide,  and  this  complicates  the  matter,  for 
the  carbonic  oxide  reacts  upon  the  oxide  of  iron,  forming  carbonic 
acid  and  metallic  iron.  The  reactions  between  carbonic  acid  (C02), 
carbonic  oxide  (CO),  carbon,  ferric  oxide  (Fe203),  ferrous  oxide 
(FeO)  and  spongy  iron  (Fe)  are  dependent  upon  the  temperature 
and  upon  the  composition  of  the  gases.  The  phenomena  were  in- 
vestigated by  Bell  many  years  ago,  and  Fig.  II-C,  as  well  as  the 
following  discussion,  is  founded  on  his  experiments. 

Carbonic  oxide  begins  to  reduce  Fe203  at  about  250°  C.  (480° 
F.),  but  the  action  is  not  rapid  until  a  temperature  of  400°  C.  to 
450°  C.  is  reached  (say  800°  F.),  when  the  Fe203  is  converted  into 
Fe304,  or  after  longer  exposure,  to  Fe607.  Following  are  some  of 
the  chemical  relations  between  carbonic  oxide  and  the  usual  iron 
oxides,  in  the  order  in  which  they  occur  in  the  blast  furnace: 

(1)  3  Fe203+C0=2  Fe30+C02. 

(2)  Fe304+C0=3  FeO+C02. 

(3)  FeO+CO=:Fe+C02. 

Each  of  these  is  exothermic — i.e.,  it  produces  heat. 

*  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Dougherty,  superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania  Steel 
Co.,  at  Steelton,  for  a  careful  supervision  of  this  section. 


54  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

FIGURE  II-C. 
Blast  Furnace  Eeactions  as  Determined  by  the  Temperature. 

Note.— The  word  "  complete  "  means  practically  complete. 


1000°0 
950° 
900°C 
850° 
800°C 


FeO+C=Fe-f-CO  (complete) 
750° 


700°C 

650' 

600°C 

550° 

500°0 

450° 

400°C 


300°C 

250° 

200°C 


C02+C=2CO 


CaCO8=CaO+CO2 


FeO+0=Fe+OO  (begin) 


Carbon  deposition  ceases 

Fe3O4-f  CO=3FeO+C08  (complete) 

00,4-0=200  (begin) 


3Fe8O8-f-CO=2Fe8O4+002  (complete) 
Fe+CO8=FeO+CO 

Fe,08+3C=2Fe+3CO  (begin) 


a.' c  j  vysn^ov^ —  "J.1  on^ov^v^  \wzgiuj 

3FeaO8+CO=2Fe8O4-f  CO,  (rapid) 
350° 


Fe+OOa=FeO+CO  (begin) 


2Fe8O8+80O=7CO2+4Fe+0  (begin  carbon  deposition) 
3Fe2O,-fCO=2Fe8O4+COa  (begin) 


Carbon  begins  to  reduce  Fe203  at  about  400°   C.    (750°   F.) 
The  reactions  between  carbon  and  the  usual  oxides  are  as  follows 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  55 

(4)  Fe203+3  C=2  Fe-f  3  CO. 

(5)  Fe304+4  C=3  Fe+4  CO. 

(6)  FeO-fC=Fe+CO. 

Each  of  these  reactions  is  endothermic — i.e.,  it  absorbs  heat. 

The  carbonic  acid  (C02)  formed  by  the  reduction  of  iron  oxide 
by  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  or  by  carbon,  is  an  oxidizing  agent,  and 
by  a  change  in  temperature  there  may  be  a  reversal  of  the  reduc- 
tion just  performed,  according  to  the  following  reactions : 

(7)  2  FeO+C02=:Fe203-j-CO. 

(8)  2  Fe+3  C02=Fe203+3  CO. 

The  first  creating  heat  and  the  second  absorbing  energy.  These 
reactions  depend  upon  both  the  temperature  and  the  dilution  of 
the  gas  with  carbonic  oxide.  At  high  temperatures  the  action  is 
strong,  and  considerable  carbonic  oxide  must  be  present  to  avoid 
reoxidation.  The  main  landmarks  of  the  relations  may  be  thus 
summarized : 

(a)  Carbonic  acid  (C02)  begins  to  oxidize  spongy  iron  at  300°  C. 
(570°  F.). 

(b)  Carbonic  acid  (C02)  begins  to  unite  with  carbon  at  550°  C. 
(1020°  F.),  and  the  reaction  is  complete  at  1000°  C.  (1830°  F.). 

(c)  The  reduction  of  metallic  iron  depends  upon  the  percentage 
of  carbonic  acid  (C02)  in  the  gases,  but  the  critical  content  of  C02 
depends  upon  the  temperature,  as  follows : 

At  a  white  heat  a  gas  containing  C02=10%,  CO— 90%,  will 
not  reduce  metallic  iron  from  the  oxide. 

At  a  full  red  heat  a  gas  containing  C02=32%,  C0=68%,  will 
not  reduce  metallic  iron. 

At  a  low  red  heat  a  gas  containing  C02=60%,  C0=40%,  will 
not  reduce  metallic  iron. 

A  mixture  of  C02=50%,  C0=50%,  passed  over  spongy  iron 
at  a  white  heat  oxidizes  it  to  FeO,  while  if  passed  over  Fe203 
reduces  it  to  FeO. 

The  reactions  in  the  upper  part  of  the  blast  furnace  are  not  sim- 
ple processes  of  reduction  like  reactions  (1)  to  (6),  or  oxidations 
like  (7)  and  (8).  While  these  actions  are  progressing  there  is  a 
deposition  of  carbon,  according  to  relation  (9), 

(9)  2  Fe203+8  C0=7  C02+4  Fe+C. 


56  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

It  is  stated  by  high  authority  that  carbon  deposition  cannot  take 
place  without  oxidation  of  metallic  iron  by  carbonic  acid  (C02), 
or  by  carbonic  oxide  according  to  the  relation  (10)  or  (11), 

(10)  Fe+CO=FeO-f  C, 

(11)  2  Fe+C02=2  FeO+C, 

but  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  these  reactions  can  take  place 
in  the  upper  zone  of  the  blastfurnace,  since  at  the  temperatures 
existing  the  reactions  (1)  and  (9)  are  the  only  ones  possible,  and 
no  metallic  iron  can  exist  except  through  reaction  (9),  which  calls 
for  carbon  deposition,  and  this  reaction  produces  metallic  iron 
instead  of  oxidizing  it.  It  may  be  true  that  at  higher  temperatures 
the  great  bulk  of  carbon  deposit  is  dependent  upon,  or  at  least  is 
associated  with,  an  oxidation  of  metallic  iron  by  carbonic  acid 
(C02)  or  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  but  the  testimony  indicates  that 
the  first  of  the  carbon  deposit  is  formed  where  the  temperature  is 
insufficient  for  the  formation  of  metallic  iron  save  by  the  simul- 
taneous formation  of  impregnating  carbon.  Moreover,  if  metallic 
iron  were  formed  it  could  not  be  oxidized  by  carbonic  acid  (C02), 
since  reaction  (12)  does  not  begin  until  a  temperature  of  300°  C. 

(12)  Fe+C02=FeO-fCO. 

(510°  F.)  is  reached  and  does  not  become  rapid  until  a  still  higher 
altitude  is  attained. 

On  the  other  hand,  carbon  deposition  does  not  take  place  with 
rapidity  until  the  temperature  is  from  400°  C.  to  500°  C.  (say 
840°  F.),  and  this  indicates  that  such  deposition  might  depend 
upon  reaction  (12)  between  metallic  iron  and  carbonic  acid  (C02), 
but  it  may  also  depend  upon  the  reduction  of  iron  oxide  by  carbon, 
as  in  reactions  (4),  (5)  and  (6).  These  are  all  endothermic — i.e., 
they  absorb  heat,  while  the  reduction  of  iron  oxide  by  carbonic  ox- 
ide (CO)  is  exothermic — i.e.,  it  creates  heat.  Eeaction  (4)  begins 
to  take  place  at  about  400°  C.  (750°  F.),  so  that  at  this  tempera- 
ture a  supply  of  metallic  iron  is  provided,  and  since  carbonic  acid 
(C02)  is  able,  at  this  point,  to  oxidize  metallic  iron  according  to 
reaction  (12),  there  may  coexist  all  the  factors  necessary  for  any 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  57 

reactions,  since  there  may  be  present  Fe203,  Fe304,  FeO,  Fe,  CO 
and  C02.    Two  reactions  occurring  are  (13)  and  (14), 

(13)  2  FeO+C02=Fe203+CO, 

(14)  2  Fe+3  C02=Fe203+3  CO, 

the  first  creating  heat  and  the  second  absorbing  energy. 

Experiments  on  carbon  deposition  were  carried  on  by  Laudig.* 
He  passed  blast-furnace  gas  over  different  ores,  the  gas  contain- 
ing about  7.5  per  cent.  C02,  and  29  per  cent.  CO,  the  temperature 
being  just  above  the  melting  point  of  zinc.  The  following  list 
shows  the  results  obtained,  the  figures  being  the  weight  of  carbon 
deposited  in  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  ore : 

Min.  Max. 

Old  range  soft  hematites 4.48  35.13 

hard  hematites 2.16  12.88 

blue  ores 1.56  4.72 

brown  ores 0.98  24.92 

magnetites nil  nil 

Mesabis 10.20  36.40 

Scale  and  cinder 0.08  0.74 

It  was  assumed  by  Laudig  that  the  reducibility  and  value  of  an 
ore  depended  upon  two  conditions : 

(1)  That  it  should  be  of  such  a  character  that  carbon  would  be 
deposited  throughout  the  mass; 

(2)  That  it  should  not  be  too  readily  disintegrated  or  too  much 
increased  in  volume  by  this  action. 

Cases  were  cited  in  tests  of  some  of  the  Mesabi  ores  where  the 
mass  increased  to  four  or  five  times  its  volume  after  exposure  to 
the  gas,  thus  explaining  the  choking  and  scaffolding  encountered 
when  smelting  these  fine  varieties. 

The  reducibility  of  different  ores  was  investigated  by  Wiborgh,t 
who  concludes  that  it  is  dependent  upon  the  density  of  the  ore  as 
measured  by  the  specific  gravity.  Anything  which  increases  the 
porosity  assists  the  reduction,  as,  for  instance,  the  roasting  of  a 
carbonate  or  a  hydrate.  By  the  same  reasoning,  hematite  would  be 

Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXVI,  p.  269.       tJerukontorets  Annaler,  Vol.  LIT,  pp.  280-310. 


58  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

easier  to  reduce  in  the  blast  furnace,  because  at  very  low  tempera- 
tures it  is  converted  into  magnetite,  losing  a  portion  of  its  oxygen 
in  so  doing,  and  thus  opening  pores  throughout  the  mass.  More- 
over, during  this  reaction  carbon  deposition  may  occur,  while  it  is 
well  known  that  very  little  carbon  is  deposited  with  magnetite. 
Wiborgh  shows  that  the  degree  of  reduction  is  in  proportion  to 
the  carbon  deposition,  the  degree  of  reduction  being  the. amount  of 
reduced  iron,  expressed  in  per  cent.,  of  the  total  iron  present.  The 
results  are  tabulated  herewith: 

Percentage  of 

Carbon  Degree  of 

Number  of  Tests.          Deposited.  Reduction. 

6  0  to  1  70  to  82 

6  1  to  2  83  to  86 

4  2  to  3  85  to  86 

2  4  to  6  90  to  93 

In  order  to  obtain  a  large  proportion  of  deposited  carbon,  the 
temperature  must  be  low  and  the  ore  porous.  In  the  case  of 
Bilbao  ore,  the  deposited  carbon  in  one  case  reached  12.23  per 
cent.  It  is  urged  by  Wiborgh  that  Fec07  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  blast  furnace.  He  recognizes  four  oxides :  Fe203,  which  he 
rates  at  100  per  cent,  of  oxidation;  Fe304,  rated  at  88.9  per  cent.; 
FeO,  rated  at  66.7  per  cent.,  and  Fe607,  intermediate  between  the 
ferrous  and  magnetic  oxides,  with  a  rating  of  77.8  per  cent,  of 
oxidation.  Experiments  seemed  to  show  that  it  was  Fe607,  and 
not  FeO,  which  formed  during  the  experiments,  and  that  this  oxide 
was  directly  reduced  in  accordance  with  the  following  reaction : 

Fe607+7  C0=6  Fe-f  7  C02. 

It  is  stipulated,  however,  that  these  conditions  obtain  when  there 
is  neither  hydrogen  nor  deposited  carbon,  as  these  two  agents  tend 
to  the  formation  of  ferrous  oxide.  It  would  seem  rash  to  assume 
that  a  furnace  would  run  without  the  formation  of  hydrogen  or 
without  the  presence  of  deposited  carbon,  and  it  may  be  better  to 
cling  to  the  old  theory  that  FeO  is  the  next  stage  after  the  mag- 
netic oxide. 

Much  remains  to  be  discovered  in  this  field.    Thus  Laudig  states 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  59 

that  there  is  almost  no  carbon  deposition  with  magnetite,  a  fact 
which  I  have  verified  by  experiment,  and  it  is  generally  agreed  that 
carbon  deposition  is  essential  to  good  reduction  and  fuel  economy. 
Nevertheless,  Cuban  ore  has  been  smelted  at  Steelton  with  less  than 
a  ton  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron  and  in  a  furnace  only  65  ft.  high,  the 
practice  being  continued  for  a  long  time.  This  ore  is  mostly 
magnetite,  in  hard  lumps,  containing  10  per  cent,  silica,  and  from 
0.25  to  0.50  per  cent,  sulphur,  and  on  account  of  this  latter  im- 
purity it  was  essential  to  maintain  a  good  temperature,  but  this 
was  done  so  successfully  that  the  iron  ran  from  a  trace  to  .04  per 
cent,  in  sulphur. 

It  is  possible  that  the  volatilization  of  the  sulphur  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  furnace  may  make  the.  ore  porous,  but  this  explanation 
does  not  account  for  the  easy  reduction,  because  the  sulphur  is  not 
distributed  regularly  throughout  the  ore,  but  is  in  separate  crystals 
and  masses,  and  under  these  conditions  a  content  of  less  than  half 
of  one  per  cent,  of  sulphur  is  not  enough  to  produce  any  great 
change  in  porosity.  Moreover,  this  sulphur  will  not  be  completely 
distilled  or  acted  upon  in  the  upper  zones  of  the  furnace,  where  the 
relative  reducibility  is  of  great  consequence.  But  even  assuming 
that  the  volatilization  of  the  sulphur  renders  the  ore  reducible,  this 
merely  proves  that  magnetite  is  not  as  hard  to  reduce  as  is  gener- 
ally supposed.  It  may  be  that  an  unusually  hard  ore  like  the 
Swedish  magnetites  will  be  less  easily  reduced  than  a  porous  min- 
eral, but  it  is  not  logical  to  say  that  magnetic  oxide  is  hard  to  re- 
duce, simply  because  magnetic  oxide  usually  occurs  in  hard  and 
compact  formations.  The  correct  expression  would  be  that  com- 
pact ores  are  hard  to  reduce  and  that  magnetites  are  usually  of 
this  character.  Even  this  conclusion  is  open  to  dispute,  for  the 
Cuban  ore  above  referred  to  is  solid  and  in  lumps,  and  yet  gives  as 
good  a  fuel  ratio  as  would  be  expected  from  its  silica  content. 
Moreover,  the  Swedish  magnetites  themselves  have  been  used  in 
large  quantities  in  Germany,  and  it  is  the  experience  in  more  than 
one  works  that  no  increase  in  fuel  follows  their  use.  I  have  been 
given  the  figures  of  two  furnaces  using  about  40  per  cent  of  these 
ores,  where  the  fuel  for  a  whole  campaign  ran  1.05  tons  of  coke  per 
ton  of  iron,  although  the  burden  carried  only  42  per  cent,  of  iron, 
and  was  in  no  measure  self-fluxing.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
charge  was  puddle  cinder,  which  is  not  easy  to  reduce. 


60  METALLURGY  OF  IRON"  AND  STEEL. 

I  have  commented  on  the  necessity  of  invoking  something  beside 
the  oxidizing  influence  of  carbonic  acid  upon  iron  to  explain  the 
beginning  of  the  carbon  impregnation,,  but  the  question  is  puzzling 
and  difficult  to  investigate.  The  subject  is  of  great  importance,  as 
it  is  known  that  carbonic  oxide  alone  is  unable  to  remove  the  last 
traces  of  oxygen  from  iron  oxide,  this  office  being  performed  by 
deposited  carbon  in  the  lower  region  of  the  blast  furnace,  and  it 
is  also  known  that  carbon  deposition  ceases  at  about  600°  C.  and 
that  carbonic  acid  (C02)  then  acts  upon  and  dissolves  carbon,  so 
that  in  the  lower  and  hotter  portions  of  the  furnace  there  is  no 
carbon  deposit  except  what  is  associated  with  the  iron,  waiting  for 
a  chance  to  unite  with  it  as  carbide. 

Howe*  has  reviewed  the  work  of  Bell  and  others  very  thoroughly 
in  respect  to  carbon  impregnation,  and  concludes  thus  : 

"The  exact  nature  of  the  reactions  is  not  known.  Metals  which 
like  iron  are  reduced  by  carbonic  oxide,  but  which  unlike  it  are  not 
oxidized  by  this  gas  or  by  carbonic  acid,  do  not  induce  carbon 
deposition  as  far  as  known  :  this  suggests  that  it  is  connected  with 
the  oxidation  of  iron  by  one  or  both  of  these  gases  by  reactions  like 
the  following: 

Fe+xCO=FeOx+xC, 


rather  than  to  mere  dissociation  of  carbonic  oxide,  thus  : 

2  CO=C+COa, 
which  may  be  the  resultant  of  either  of  these  two  reactions  :" 

FeOx.+vCO=FeOx_y+yC02. 
FeOx+yCO=FeOx+y+yC. 

The  chemical  phenomena  of  a  blast  furnace  have  been  repre- 
sented graphically  by  Bell,  and  also  in  a  book  by  Prof.  Robt.  H. 
Eichards  for  use  in  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  but 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  them  with  quantitative  accuracy. 
I  believe  it  is  possible  to  map  out  the  reactions,  after  assuming 
certain  conditions.  I  have  been  assisted  in  this  task  by  Mr.  John 

*  Metallurgy,  p.  122. 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  61 

W.  Dougherty,  Superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany, and  the  results  are  shown  in  Fig.  II-D.  The  curves  express 
quantitatively  the  relative  amounts  of  each  element  or  substance, 
for  the  conditions  under  consideration.  The  height  is  90  feet,  and 
information  is  given  as  to  the  temperature  to  be  expected  at  dif- 
ferent distances  above  the  hearth.  The  conditions  assumed  are  as. 
follows : 

Temperature  at  tuyeres,  1500°  C. 

Ore=60  per  cent.  Fe ;  no  water. 

Coke=87  per  cent.  C  ;  1888  Ibs.  per  ton  of  iron. 

Stone=100  per  cent.  CaC03 ;  1010  Ibs.  per  ton  of  iron. 

Pig-iron=4  per  cent.  C;  1  per  cent.  Si. 

Ratio  of  tunnel  head  gas  by  volume,  1  C02  to  1£  CO. 

Temperature  of  tunnel  head  gases,  260°  C. 

Height  of  furnace,  90  feet. 

It  is  assumed,  upon  the  authority  of  Bell,  that  the  carbon  needed 
for  the  carburization  of  the  pig-iron  is  deposited  in  the  iron  oxide^ 
in  the  upper  portion  of  the  furnace,  and  that  the  amount  so  de- 
posited is  just  sufficient  for  the  work.  An  estimate  is  made  of  the 
cyanogen  present.  No  data  are  given  concerning  silicon,  sulphur, 
phosphorus  and  other  elements,  as  their  graphic  representation  on 
so  small  a  scale  would  be  a  straight  line.  In  the  case  of  alumina^ 
the  amount  is  greater,  but  it  has  not  been  shown,  as  it  undergoes 
no  change  and  affects  no  constituent  of  the  charge  until  it  reaches 
the  zone  of  fusion.  The  isothermal  lines  in  a  blast  furnace  are  not 
horizontal,  as  they  vary  with  the  irregularities  in  the  descent  of 
the  stock  in  different  parts  of  the  furnace,  but  it  seemed  unneces- 
sary to  show  these  complications. 

From  this  diagram  we  learn  the  following : 

At  the  tunnel  head  the  ore  (Fe203)  is  plunged  into  an  atmos- 
phere of  C0=24  per  cent.,  C02=16  per  cent.,  N=60  per  cent., 
and  a  temperature  of  about  260°  C.  (500°  F.),  and  there  is  imme- 
diately a  reduction  of  part  of  the  ore  to  Fe304,  this  action  increas- 
ing as  the  ore  descends  and  reaches  a  higher  temperature.  By  the 
time  a  depth  of  10  feet  is  reached,  all  the  Fe,03  has  been  converted 
into  Fe304  and  the  temperature  is  450°  C.  (890°  F.).  Before  this 
reduction  is  well  under  way,  there  begins  the  carbon  deposition  by 
which  the  gases  react  upon  the  ore  and  deposit  carbon  throughout 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


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THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  63 

the  pores  of  the  oxide,  and  this  carbon  remains  associated  with  the 
iron,  finally  furnishing  the  proportion  needed  for  its  conversion 
into  pig-iron.  This  carbon  deposition  begins  at  a  temperature  of 
about  300°  C.  (570°  F.),  soon  after  the  first  stages  of  reduction 
are  under  way,  rapidly  increases  until  all  the  Fe203  is  reduced  to 
Fe304  at  a  temperature  of  about  450°  C.  (840°  F.),  and  then  con- 
tinues at  a  slower  rate  until  the  Fe304  is  all  reduced  to  FeO  at  a 
temperature  of  about  600°  C.  (1110°  F.).  The  mixture  of  carbon 
and  metallic  iron  descends  until  the  zone  of  fusion  is  reached,  when 
the  mixture  is  converted  into  iron  carbide. 

As  above  stated,  the  gases  reduce  the  Fe203  and  at  a  temperature 
of  450°  C.  the  iron  is  nearly  all  present  as  Fe304.  This  descends 
unchanged  until  at  13£  feet  it  meets  a  temperature  of  500°  C. 
(930°  F.),  when  it  is  strongly  acted  upon  and  converted  into  FeO, 
the  transformation  being  complete  when  a  temperature*  of  about 
580°  C.  (1080°  F.)  is  reached  at  a  depth  of  19  feet.  This  FeO  so 
formed,  impregnated  with  deposited  carbon,  descends  quite  a  dis- 
tance unchanged  until  a  temperature  of  700°  C.  (1290°  F.)  is 
encountered  at  a  depth  of  26  feet,  when  the  last  atom  of  oxygen  is 
taken  by  the  carbonic  oxide,  and  spongy  iron  begins  to  form.  This 
reaction  is  completed  when  the  temperature  reaches  800°  C. 
(1470°  F.)  at  a  depth  of  32  feet. 

The  limestone  comes  down  through  the  furnace  until  it  encoun- 
ters the  temperature  of  800°  C.  (1470°  F.),  at  which  the  last  of 
the  FeO  is  reduced  to  spongy  iron,  when  it  is  decomposed  and  the 
carbonic  acid  is  driven  off  to  rise  through  the  stock,  while  caustic 
lime  ( CaO )  descends  to-  the  zone  of  fusion  to  flux  the  silicious  in- 
gredients of  the  charge.  The  carbonic  acid  (C02)  from  the  lime- 
stone plays  an  important  and  objectionable  part  in  its  passage  to 
the  tunnel  head.  At  all  temperatures  above  550°  C.  (1020°  F.) 
the  following  reaction  occurs : 

C02+C=2  CO, 

and  as  the  limestone  is  not  decomposed  until  a  temperature  of 
800°  C.  is  reached,  it  follows  that  during  the  passage  of  this  car- 
bonic acid  from  the  point  where  it  is  made  at  a  depth  of  32  feet 
until  it  reaches  a  temperature  of  550°  C.  (1020°  F.)  at  a  depth  of 
about  17  feet,  which  is  to  say,  during  the  travel  of  the  gas  through 


64:  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

a  vertical  distance  of  15  feet,  it  is  constantly  reacting  upon  the 
coke.  Experiments  show  that  a  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  equal  to 
the  amount  liberated  from  the  limestone  is  thus  destroyed  in  the 
upper  portions  of  the  furnace,  with  the  production  of  an  equivalent 
amount  of  carbonic  oxide  (CO).  The  energy  of  this  carbonic  oxide 
may  be  subsequently  utilized  under  boilers  or  in  the  stoves,  but 
it  is  totally  lost  as  far  as  the  economy  of  the  furnace  itself  is  con- 
cerned. 

It  is  not  correct  to  say  that  all  the  carbonic  acid  from  the  stone 
is  decomposed,  for  alongside  of  this  amount  is  a  certain  quantity 
arising  from  the  reaction  between  the  ferrous  oxide  (FeO)  and  the 
carbonic  oxide  (CO),  and  there  is  no  warrant  for  supposing  that  a 
molecule  of  gas  derived  from  the  stone  has  any  history  different 
from  a  molecule  derived  from  the  reduction  of  the  ore ;  but  it  may 
be  said,  for  the  sake  of  simplicity,  that  the  reactions  in  the  upper 
portion  of  the  furnace  consist  of  the  reduction  of  iron  oxides 
(Fe203,  Fe304,  FeO)  by  carbonic  oxide  (CO)  and  the  simultaneous 
oxidation  of  coke  by  the  carbonic  acid  (C02)  of  the  limestone, 
With  the  exception  of  this  last  reaction,  and  the  formation  of  a 
small  amount  of  carbon  deposit,  the  coke  charged  at  the  top  goes 
down  through  the  furnace  unchanged  in  quantity  or  condition  un- 
til it  reaches  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  tuyeres,  the 
presence  of  so  large  a  proportion  of  carbonic  oxide  rendering  the 
oxidation  of  carbon  out  of  the  question. 

Below  the  place  where  the  last  of  the  FeO  is  reduced,  at  a  tem- 
perature of  800°  C.,  at  which  point  the  limestone  is  decomposed, 
there  are  no  reactions  whatever  occurring,  and  the  whole  history  is 
one  of  heat  absorption  preparatory  to  the  intense  concentration  of 
energy  at  the  tuyeres.  The  temperature,  therefore,  rises  steadily 
and  regularly  as  the  tuyeres  are  approached.  This  rise  in  tem- 
perature is  shown  upon  the  diagram  as  being  uniform  throughout 
the  entire  height  of  the  furnace,  which  is  not  strictly  true,  for  the 
bosh  region  is  cooled  by  water,  and,  being  at  a  high  temperature, 
the  chilling  effect  at  this  point  must  be  more  rapid  than  will  be 
found  higher  up,  where  there  is  little  radiation  and  no  heat- 
absorbing  reactions.  There  is  another  zone  where  the  limestone  is 
decomposed,  and  this  portion  would  show  a  variation  from  a  regu- 
lar increase  in  temperature,  while  above,  that  point  considerable 
Leal  is  absorbed  by  the  union  of  carbonic  acid  from  the  stone  with 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  65 

coke  (C02+C— 2  CO),  and  a  considerable  amount  created  by  the 
reduction  of  the  iron  oxides  by  carbonic  oxide  (CO).  Inasmuch 
as  any  attempt  to  equate  these  conditions  would  involve  many  as- 
sumptions, it  may  be  as  well  to  presuppose  a  uniform  rate  of  pro- 
gression. 

The  reactions  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  tuyeres  differ  from  the 
reactions  occurring  higher  up,  on  account  of  the  facilitation  of 
chemical  action  by  the  intense  temperature.  The  blast  is  composed 
of  nitrogen  and  oxygen ;  the  nitrogen  passes  unchanged  through  the 
zone  of  fusion  and  the  upper  zones  of  reduction,  and  escapes  in  its 
original  state  and  quantity  with  the  tunnel  head  gases.  A  small 
and  uncertain  quantity  combines  with  carbon  to-  form  cyanogen, 
which  combines  with  potassium  or  sodium  to  form  cyanides,  but 
these  are  constantly  undergoing  decomposition  in  their  passage  up- 
ward through  the  ore,  according  to  the  reaction: 

2  KCN+3  FeO=K20+2  CO+3  Fe+2  N. 

The  oxygen,  immediately  upon  entering,  unites  with  glowing 
coke  to  form  carbonic  acid  (C02),  but  by  contact  with  other  pieces 
of  incandescent  coke  this  is  changed  into  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  and 
from  a  distance  of  about  four  feet  above  the  tuyeres  to  the  point 
where  limestone  is  decomposed  and  ferrous  oxide  reduced,  there  is 
no  carbonic  acid  in  the  furnace,  the  entire  atmosphere  being  com- 
posed of  nitrogen  and  carbonic  oxide  (CO).  The  coke  comes  down 
through  the  furnace  unchanged  and  unaffected  in  quality  or  quan- 
tity, save  for  the  oxidation  of  a  small  amount  by  the  carbonic  acid 
(C02)  from  the  limestone,  until  it  reaches  a  point  about  four  feet 
above  the  tuyeres,  when  it  meets  the  carbonic  acid  (C02)  formed 
at  the  tuyeres,  and  there  then  occurs  the  reaction : 

C02+C=2  CO. 

At  the  same  time  other  particles  of  incandescent  carbon,  possibly 
only  a  fraction  of  an  inch  away  from  where  the  foregoing  reaction 
is  taking  place,  are  coming  in  contact  with  molecules  of  free  oxygen 
from  the  blast,  and  there  occurs  the  following  reaction: 

C+ 2  0=C02, 


66 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


the  carbonic  acid  so  formed  being  doomed  to  immediate  destruc- 
tion on  its  first  meeting  with  the  next  molecule  of  incandescent 
carbon. 

The  final  result  of  this  combustion  is  the  formation  of  carbonic 
oxide  (CO)  with  no  admixture  of  carbonic  acid  (C02),  and  this 
carbonic  oxide  rises  in  unchanging  quantity  to  the  point  where  it 
meets  unreduced  ferrous  oxide  (FeO).  Here  begins  the  formation 
of  carbonic  acid  (C02)  from  both  the  reduction  of  the  ore  and  the 
decomposition  of  the  limestone,  and  in  spite  of  the  destruction  of 
some  carbonic  acid  (C02)  by  the  coke  with  formation  of  carbonic 

TABLE  II-B. 
Furnace  Practice  at  Middlesborough  and  Pittsburg. 


Middles- 
borough. 

Pittsburgh 

General  conditions- 
Height  of  furnace,  feet  

80 

80 

25500 

18  200 

Per  cent,  of  metallic  iron  in  ore  

39  0 

59  0 

Weekly  product  per  1000  feet  cubic  content  tons 

21  57 

128  00 

Temperature  of  blast,  degrees  cent  

704 

593 

Temperature  of  tunnel  head  gases  degrees  cent  . 

250 

171 

Ratio  of  CO  to  CO  2  in  gases  

2  11 

235 

Data  per  ton  of  pig  iron- 
Coke,  pounds  .... 

2239 

1882 

Limestone,  pounds  

1232 

1011 

Ore,  pounds  

5376 

3613 

Weight  of  blast,  pounds  

9761 

7974 

Weight  of  tunnel  head  gases  pounds  

13381 

11  211 

Slag,  pounds  

3136 

1200 

Calories  used  in  the  furnace  per  ton  of  pig  iron- 
Reduction  of  FeaO.  

1  681  887 

1  681  887 

Reduction  of  metalloids  in  pig-iron  

212  039 

133  655 

Dissociation  of  CO  

73  152 

74  168 

Fusion  of  pig-iron 

335  280 

335  280 

Evaporation  of  water  in  coke  

13970 

4  216 

Decomposition  of  water  in  blast  ...        . 

120  904 

118  516 

206  756 

157,175 

Reduction  of  this  CO2  to  CO  

214  579 

177  190 

Fusion  of  slag  .  . 

782  320 

299  212 

494  792 

298,145 

4,135,679 

3.279,444 

Calories  in  tunnel  head  gases  per  ton  pig  iron- 

364  000 

254  700 

Potential  as  CO  

3  810  000 

3  137  000 

Total  in  tunnel  head  gas  

4  174.000 

3.391  700 

Summary  per  ton  of  pig  iron— 
(a)  Calories  used  in  furnace  (as  above)  

4  135  679 

3  279  444 

(b)  Calories  in  tunnel  head  gases  (as  above)  

4  174  000 

3  391  700 

Sum  of  (a)  and  (b)  

8  309  679 

6  671  144 

(c)  Less  calories  from  blast  included  in  (a)  .... 

738  632 

626  872 

Calorific  power  produced  per  ton  rf  iron  

7  f>71  047 

6  044  272 

Calorific  power  produced  per  ton  of  coke  

7  574  400 

7  196  000 

THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


67 


oxide  (CO)  the  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  (C02)  in  the  gases 
increases  all  the  way  to  the  top. 

All  the  figures  relating  to  vertical  distances  must  be  changed  for 
every  variation  in  the  height  of  different  furnaces,  and  the  tem- 
perature of  the  tunnel  head  gases  is  different  at  every  furnace, 
while  the  horizontal  measurements  on  the  drawing  must  be  made 
to  accord  with  the  furnace  practice  on  coke,  ore,  etc.,  but  it  has 
been  deemed  worth  while  to  solve  one  definite  problem  as  an  ex- 
'  ample  of  the  method  which  seems  applicable  to  all  similar  investi- 
gations. 

SEC.  III. — The  utilization  and  waste  of  heat. — Any  discussion 
of  the  distribution  of  heat  in  a  blast  furnace  must  base  itself  on 
the  investigations  of  Sir  Lowthian  Bell.  In  one  of  his  last  con- 

TABLE  II-C. 
Distribution  of  Energy  at  Middlesborough  and  Pittsburg. 

Table  II-B  shows  that  the  English  coke  was  5  per  cent,  better  than  American 

coke.     Hence  with  the  same   coke,  the  fuel   in   Pittsburg  would  have  been 

only  1788  Ibs.  per  ton. 


Equivalent  in  Pounds 
of  Coke. 

Per  cent,  of  total  Calo- 
rific Value 

English. 

American. 

English. 

American 

Constant  factors- 
Reduction  of  FefOj  

452 
90 

452 
90 

20.2 
4.0 

25.2 
5.0 

Fusion  of  pig  iron  

Total    

542 

58 
66 
58 
210 

542 

36 
41 

49 
80 

24.2 

2.6 
25 
2.6 
9.4 

30.2 

2.0 
2.3 
2-7 
4.5 

Factors  beyond  the  control  of  the  smelter- 
Reduction  of  the  metalloids 

Expulsion  of  CO,,  from  limestone  
Reduction  of  this  CO3  to  CO  

Fusion  of  slag                  . 

Total     

382 

20 
5 
34 

134 

206 

20 
2 
33 

80 

17.1 

0.9 
0.2 
15 
6.0 

11.5 

1.1 
0.1 
1  8 
4.5 

Factors  more  or  less  under  control- 
Dissociation  of  CO 

Decomposition  of  water  in  blast  

Total  

193 

99 
1023 

135 

68 
837 

8.6 

4.4 

45.7 

7.5 

3.8 
47.0 

Tunnel  head  gases- 
Sensible  heat    

Potential  as  CO 

Total  

1122 

905 

50.1 

50.8 

Grand  Total     .. 

2239 

1788 

100.0 

100.0 

68  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

tributions  lie  compared*  the  working  of  a  typical  Pittsburg  furnace 
with  the  practice  in  the  Cleveland  district  in  England.  In  Tables 
II-B  and  II-C  the  results  are  tabulated  and  expanded,  so  as  to  show 
the  way  the  heat  is  utilized  under  two  entirely  different  sets  of 
conditions. 

In  Table  II-C  I  have  departed  from  his  line  of  calculation  in 
finding  the  equivalent  amount  of  coke  in  the  American  furnace. 
The  object  of  the  investigation  is  to  account  for  the  larger  amount 
of  fuel  used  in  England,  and  Bell  sums  up  every  way  in  which  the 
lean  and  silicious  ores  of  Cleveland  increase  the  work  to  be  done; 
but  although  he  mentions  that  Connellsville  coke  contains  more 
ash  than  the  coke  of  Durham,  he  makes  no  allowance  for  this  at 
all.  The  furnaceman  cannot  get  calorific  power  out  of  this  ash, 
and  for  this  reason  I  believe  that  the  calculation  by  Bell  on  the 
heat  developed  per  unit  of  coke  (p.  958  loc.  cit.)  is  entirely  mis- 
leading. The  difference  of  7.00  per  cent,  (not  "7J  per  cent.")  is 
accounted  for  by  the  extra  ash  which  the  American  coke  contains, 
for  Durham  coke  is  given  as  5  to  7J  per  cent,  in  ash,  while  Con- 
nellsville will  run  at  least  5  per  cent,  higher. 

The  composition  of  the  gases  from  the  Cleveland  furnace  is  not 
given,  but  the  ratio  is  recorded  and  the  weight  produced  per  ton 
of  iron,  and  from  these  data  I  have  calculated  the  composition. 
Bell  views  the  gases  simply  as  a  vehicle  of  sensible  heat,  with  the 
exception  of  the  calorific  power  returned  in  the  blast,  but  I  believe 
it  more  correct  to  calculate  all  the  potential  energy  in  the  coke  and 
find  how  much  is  accounted  for,  either  as  potential  or  chemical 
energy,  or  as  sensible  heat.  Bell  did  this  in  previous  writings  and 
showed  that  in  one  case  74  per  cent,  of  the  heating  power  of  the 
fuel  was  employed  in  useful  work,  but  this  counted  the  energy  de- 
veloped in  boilers  and  hot  stoves.  I  believe  it  is  better  to  keep 
this  energy  separate  under  the  name  of  "potential  heat  in  gas,"  as 
the  economical  use  of  such  gas  is  a  problem  entirely  distinct  from 
the  metallurgy  of  a  blast  furnace.  Table  II-D  gives  the  total  heat 
-developed  in  the  furnace  and  the  distribution  of  this  heat. 

The  potential  heat  includes  all  the  energy  of  the  escaping  gases, 
except  the  sensible  heat.  It  appears  later  in  four  places : 

*  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  X'X,  p.  057. 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


69 


(1)  Heat  utilized  in  stoves  in  heating  the  blast. 

(2)  Heat  utilized  in  boilers  in  making  steam. 

(3)  Heat  lost  in  ovens  by  incomplete  combustion,  in  the  stack 
gases,  and  by  radiation. 

TABLE  II-D. 
General  Equation  of  the  Blast  Furnace. 


Middles- 
borough. 

Pittsburg. 

Per  ton  of  pig  iron- 
Calories  from  formation  of  COa       ...  .    

2427  000 

1  982  000 

Calories  from  formation  of  CO              .                          

1  336000 

1  025  000 

3  810000 

8  137  000 

Total  per  ton  of  iron  .      ....         ..  ..  ..  .........  ...  .  . 

7573000 

6  144  000 

Per  ton  of  coke- 
Calories  from  formation  of  COw.                   ...  ........... 

2  428  000 

2  360000 

1  342000 

1  220000 

Calories  potential  in  gas  as  CO....  

3812000 

3  735  000 

7,582,000 

7,315  000 

Distribution  by  per  cent,  of  total  energy  — 

32  1 

32  2 

Percent  from  formation  of  CO  ............ 

17  6 

16  7 

50.3 

51.1 

Total  

100  0 

100  0 

(4)  Heat  lost  at  boilers  by  incomplete  combustion,  in  the  stack 
gases,  and  by  radiation. 

It  would  be  possible  to  verify  the  conclusions  if  the  exact  calorific 
value  of  the  coke  were  known,  but  this  is  not  given  in  either  case. 
Bell  assumes  that  Durham  coke  contains  10  per  cent,  of  earthy  and 
volatile  materials,  but  some  of  this  volatile  matter  is  hydrogen, 
which  appears  as  potential  heat  in  the  gases.  It  is  probable  that 
the  heat  value  of  Durham  coke  is  about  7400  calories  per  kilo- 
gram, or  say  7,500,000  calories  per  ton.  The  coke  of  Connells- 
ville  will  probably  give  about  7,120,000  calories  per  ton.  The 
figures  given  in  Table  II-D,  as  found  by  theoretical  calculations, 
show  a  value  for  Durham  coke  of  7,582,000  calories,  being  about 
1  per  cent,  greater  than  the  foregoing  assumption,  and  for  Con- 
nellsville  7,315,000  calories,  being  about  3  per  cent,  more,  while  in 
Table  II-B  a  somewhat  different  method  gave  7,574,000  calories  for 
Durham  and  7,196,000  calories  for  Connellsville.  This  is  a  suffi- 
ciently close  approximation,  considering  the  inaccuracy  of  the  data. 


70  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  A2STD  STEEL. 

The  Middlesborough  and  Pittsburg  furnaces  represent  two  ex- 
tremes of  good  practice;  one  with  lean  ores  and  slow-running,  and 
the  other  with  rich  ores  and  fast-running,  and  from  Tables  II-C 
and  II-D  the  following  conclusions  may  be  drawn: 

(1)  Of  all  the  heat  energy  contained  in  the  coke  charged  in  a 
blast  furnace,  one-half  goes  away  in  the  tunnel  head  gases,  part  as 
sensible  heat,  but  most  of  it  as  unburned  CO. 

(2)  The  proportion  of  heat  so  lost  is  about  the  same  whether 
the  furnace  is  working  on  lean  ores  with  a  high  consumption  of 
fuel  or  on  rich  ores  with  a  low  fuel  ratio. 

(3)  The  other  half  of  the  energy  is  used  in  reducing  the  iron 
ore,  in  melting  the  iron  and  slag,  in  losses  from  conduction  and 
radiation,  and  in  minor  chemical  reactions. 

(4)  The  proportion  of  the  total  energy  used  for  each  one  of 
these  items  depends  upon  the  special  conditions;  as,  for  instance, 
the  proportion  needed  for  the  reduction  of  C02  and  the  proportion 
needed  for  the  melting  of  the  slag  both  depend  on  the  amount  of 
limestone  needed,  and  this,  in  turn,  depends  on  the  impurities  in 
ore  and  fuel.     In  the  reduction  of  the  ore  and  the  fusion  of  the 
pig-iron,  both  of  which  take  a  given  amount  of  heat,  the  propor- 
tion which  this  given  amount  bears  to  the  total  will  depend  solely 
upon  what  the  total  is,  being  greater  with  a  small  fuel  ratio. 

(5)  The  proportion  lost  in  radiation  and  through  the  cooling 
water  will  decrease  as  the  output  of  the  furnace  is  increased,  either 
by  the  use  of  rich  ores  or  by  rapid  driving,  or  both. 

(6)  The  reduction  of  the  ore  calls  for  between  20  and  25  per 
cent,  of  all  the  energy  delivered  to  the  furnace. 

(7)  The  fusion  of  the  pig-iron  requires  from  4  to  5  per  cent. 

(8)  The  fusion  of  the  slag  requires  from  4.5  to  9.4  per  cent., 
increasing  with  the  amount  of  impurities  and  the  quantity  of  stone. 

(9)  The  heat  lost  by  radiation  and  in  cooling  water  varies  from 
4.5  to  6.0  per  cent,  decreasing  with  a  larger  output  of  pig-iron. 

(10)  The  reduction  of  the  metalloids,  the  expulsion  of  C02  from 
limestone,  and  the  reduction  of  this  C02  to  CO,  each  requires  from 
2  to  3  per  cent. 

(11)  The  dissociation  of  CO,  and  the  decomposition  of  water 
in  the  blast,  each  calls  for  from  1  to  2  per  cent.,  while  the  evapora- 
tion of  the  water  in  the  coke  takes  a  small  fraction  of  1  per  cent. 

(12)  Some  factors  are  beyond  the  control  of  the  smelter,  as  for  in- 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  71 

stance,  all  those  depending  on  the  limestone,  this  being  determined 
by  the  impurities  to  be  fluxed.  In  the  American  furnace  the  fac- 
tors beyond  the  control  of  the  smelter  required  only  206  pounds  of 
coke,  while  in  the  English  furnaces  382  pounds  were  needed,  a 
difference  of  176  pounds.  Inasmuch  as  fifty  per  cent,  of  all  the 
energy  is  lost  in  the  escaping  gases,  these  factors  alone  account 
for  an  extra  352  pounds  of  fuel  in  the  English  furnace. 

(13)  The  factors  which  are  more  or  less  under  control  are  prac- 
tically the  same  in  both  cases,  giving  a  total  of  7.5  per  cent,  in 
Pittsburg  and  8.6  per  cent,  in  Cleveland. 

(14)  The  loss  in  the  tunnel  head  gases  is  the  only  great  item 
presenting  any  hope  for  future  economies.    In  the  Cleveland 'prac- 
tice the  ratio  of  CO  to  C02  was  2.11.     In  Pittsburg  it  was  2.35. 
It  has  been  stated  by  Bell  that  a  ratio  better  than  2  to  1  can  hardly 
be  hoped  for,  but  this  is  a  mistake,  as  many  furnaces  can  show  bet- 
ter results.  A  ratio  of  1.5  to  1  can  be  obtained,  while  the  future  may 
see  even  greater  economy. 

SEC.  Urn. — Tunnel  head  gases. — At  every  blast  furnace  the 
tunnel  head  gases  are  sufficient  to  heat  the  stoves  and  raise  steam 
for  the  blowing  engine  and  the  pumps,  while  at  many  plants  there 
is  a  surplus  above  these  needs  which  is  used  to  generate  steam 
power  or  electric  energy.  It  is  clear  that  any  right  system  of 
bookkeeping  will  give  credit  to  the  furnace  for  this  power  at  a  fair 
price,  which,  in  a  plant  equipped  with  proper  boilers  and  engines, 
will  amount  to  about  25  cents  per  ton  of  iron.  Modern  progress 
tends  to  reduce  the  amount  of  fuel  per  ton  of  iron,  either  by  more 
skilful  management  or  by  hotter  blast,  or  by  concentration  of  the 
ore,  or  by  the  refrigeration  of  the  air,  so  the  question  arises  whether 
a  reduction  in  fuel  may  not  seriously  detract  both  from  the  volume 
and  the  heat  value  of  the  gas,  with  the  result  that  a  furnace  might 
no  longer  be  self-supporting  and  that  in  place  of  a  credit  for  sur- 
plus power  there  would  be  a  debit  for  extra  coal. 

The  investigation  of  this  question  is  simplified  by  taking  as  a 
basis  a  ton  of  coke  and  not  a  ton  of  iron,  for  the  capacity  of  a 
furnace  is  limited  not  so  much  by  the  amount  of  ore  and  stone  as  by 
the  amount  of  fuel.  Given  a  furnace  using  2500  pounds  of  coke 
per  ton  of  iron,  and  let  the  working  conditions  be  bettered  so  that 
only  2000  pounds  are  needed,  and  the  product  will  be  increased 
25  per  cent.  The  blowing  engine  is  capable  of  delivering  just  so 


72  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

many  cubic  feet  of  air,  which  will  burn  just  so  many  pounds  of 
coke,  so  that  any  reduction  in  the  amount  of  fuel  per  ton  will  be 
followed  by  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  tons  of  iron  made, 
and  it  follows  that  the  furnace  will  burn  the  same  quantity  of  coke 
in  one  hour  or  in  one  minute  as  before.  Laying  aside  all  ques- 
tion of  a  better  carbon  ratio,  the  engine  will  deliver  the  same 


TABLE  II-E. 

Method  of  Calculating  the  Composition  and  Value  of  Tunnel  Head 

Gas. 


Assumptions  for  ton  of  pig  iron. 

Carbon  ; 
Ibs. 

Oxygen;; 
Ibs. 

Coke  2000  Ibs    87  per  cent  carbon 

1740 
113 

Stone,  1000  Ibs.,  94  per  cent.  CaCO3  ;  (only  CO2  enters  gas)  
Ore—  FejjOg  ;  one  ton  pig—  95  per  cent.  Fe—  2128  Ibs.  Fe  

301 
912 
49 

Moisture  3  6  grains  per  cu  ft  •  108  000  cu  ft  air—  55  7  Ibs.  H2O. 

Total  carbon  in  coke  and.  stone               

1853 

84 
1769 

Carbon  in  pig  iron  —  3  75  per  cent                                       

Carbon  and  oxygen  in  stock,  available  for  gas  

1262 

Carbon  ratio  assumed  to  be  17                                            

C  as  COo—  1769X^7—  655  Ibs  —2402  Ibs  CO2 

655 
1114 
1769 

1747 
1485 
3232 
1262 
1970 

C  as  CO—  1769X^7—1114  Ibs  —2599  Ibs.  CO  

Total  carbon  and  oxygen  in  CO2  and  CO 

Oxygen  derived  from  blast 

Volume  ; 
cu.  ft. 

Per 
cent. 

Volume  of  oxygen  from  air  1970—0  089 

22,130 
83,760 

1590 

85,350 
19,510 
33,320 
420 
2110 
140,710 
107,900 
120,850 
157,600 

Nitrogen  with  this  oxygen  22  130X3  785 

Assuming  0.3  per  cent,  free  oxygen  in  gas,  the  nitrogen  with  1 

Total  nitrogen  in  gas  

60.6 
13.9 
23.7 
0.3 
1.5 
100.0 

COo  in  gas—  2402-=-0  123 

CO  in  gas=2599H-0.078  

Free  oxygen  assumed  to  be  0  3  per  cent                     .              .  . 

Free  hydrogen  assumed,  to  be  1  5  per  cent 

Total  gas  per  ton  of  iron  .         .  .     .              

Air  per  ton  of  iron  85  350—0  791  (air—  79  1  per  cent  N) 

Air  per  ton  of  coke,  107,900X§ino  

Gas  per  ton  of  coke,  140,710x§5o&  

B.  T.  U. 

Calorific  value  of  gas  per  cu.  ft 

86.2 
13,585,000 

1,599,600 
15,184,600 

28,538,000 
2,924,600 

31,462,600 
48.26 

Calorific  value  of  gas  per  ton  of  coke,  157,600X86.2  

Sensible  heat  of  gas  from  one  ton  of  coke,  gas  =  500°  F.  ;  1 
157  600X0  0203X500           .   .                                                             j 

Total  energy  in  gas  at  500°  F  

Calorific  value  of  one  ton  of  coke  

Sensible  heat  per  ton  of  coke,  blast=1100°  F.  ;  120,850X0.  022X  1 
1100                                                                                                 f 

Total  heat  entering  furnace  per  ton  of  coke  

Per  cent,  of  energy  in  gas,  15,184,600-h31,462,600. 

THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  73 

number  of  cubic  feet  of  air  per  minute  and  the  same  cubic  feet  of 
air  per  ton  of  coke,  while  the  volume  of  tunnel  head  gas  will  like- 
wise be  the  same  as  before  per  minute  and  per  ton  of  coke.  If  the 
gas  were  of  equal  quality  in  both  cases,  the  amount  needed  for 
stoves  and  engines  and  the  amount  available  for  surplus  power 
would  not  be  greatly  changed  by  a  reduction  in  the  coke  con- 
sumption. 

The  discussion  of  the  matter  is  taken  up  in  the  following  order : 

(1)  Calculation  on  the  volume  and  heat  value  of  the  gas. 

(2)  Bough  methods  of  corroborating  these  calculations. 

(3)  Amount  of  steam  in  gas. 

(4)  Energy  needed  to  heat  the  blast, 

(5)  Besults  of  burning  gas  under  boilers. 

(6)  Production  of  power  in  steam  engines. 

(7)  Production  of  power  in  gas  engines. 

SEC.  Iln. — Volume  and  value  of  the  tunnel  head  gas. — Table 
1I-E  gives  the  method  of  calculating  the  composition  and  volume 
of  tunnel  head  gas  under  certain  assumed  conditions,  while  Table 
II-F  arbitrarily  assumes  several  different  sets  of  furnace  condi- 
tions, so  as  to  constitute  a  series  for  comparing  the  effect  of  dif- 
ferent factors :  thus  two  columns  are  alike  in  amount  of  fuel,  stone, 
and  atmospheric  moisture,  but  different  in  carbon  ratio;  another 
two  have  the  same  fuel,  stone  and  carbon  ratio,  but  differ  in  moist- 
ure. The  effect  of  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  limestone  is  diffi- 
cult to  calculate.  In  E  and  F  two  extreme  suppositions  have  been 
made :  in  E  it  is  assumed  that  all  the  carbonic  acid  in  the  additional 
weight  of  stone  is  driven  off  unchanged ;  in  F  it  is  assumed  that  this 
gas  reacts  upon  the  coke  and  is  all  converted  into  carbonic  oxide. 
Neither  of  these  extremes  is  true,  but  a  portion  of  the  carbonic 
acid  would  pass  off  unaltered  and  a  portion  would  react  upon  the 
carbon.  The  column  with  1700  pounds  of  coke  assumes  conditions 
similar  to  those  given  by  Gayley  in  his  experiments  on  refrigera- 
tion ;  while  the  two  columns  showing  3300  pounds  of  fuel  per  ton  of 
iron  illustrate  practice  at  furnaces  where  the  ore  carries  20  per 
cent,  of  silica,  1.5  per  cent,  of  sulphur  after  roasting,  and  only  42 
per  cent,  of  iron.  Viewing  each  set  of  conditions  as  a  separate 
problem,  the  volume  and  calorific  value  of  the  tunnel  head  gases 
have  been  worked  out.  It  is  assumed  that  the  gas  contains  1.5  per 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  II-F. 
Composition  and  Value  of  Tunnel  Head  Gas. 

Assumptions :  Coke=87  per  cent,  carbon.  Stone=94  per  cent.  CaCO3.  1  cu.  ft. 
CO=345  B.  T.  U.  1  cu.  ft.  H=294  B.  T.  U.  1  Ib.  coke=12,740  B.  T.  U.  1  ton  coke=- 
28,538,000  B.  T.  U.  Sp.  heat  of  gas=0.0203  B.  T.  U.  per  cu.  ft.  It  is  assumed  that  the 
oxygen  in  CaO,  MgO,  A12O3,  etc.,  is  not  set  free,  all  oxygen  being  derived  from  the 
air,  the  ore,  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  stone,  and  the  moisture  in  the  blast.  On  a  moist 
summer  day  the  air  holds  about  6.0  grains  of  water  per  cu.  ft.  On  a  cold  winter  day 
it  holds  1.7  grains  or  less.  The  average  for  the  year  is  about  3.6  grains. 


.. 

h 

ti 

j£ 

'3 

Per  ton  of 

o 

•r* 

Composition  by 

Per  ton  of 

s§ 

Per  ton  of 

iron  ;  Ibs. 

48 

*§ 

•Sg 

volume  ;  per  cent. 

iron  ;  cu.  ft. 

w 

coke  ;  cu.  ft. 

1 

is 

C/D.P- 

ll 

Coke. 

Stone. 

eg 

11 

COa 

CO 

H 

O 

N 

Air. 

Gas. 

1 

Air. 

Gas. 

A 

1700 

1000 

1.25 

1.7 

16.93 

21.22 

1.50 

0.30 

60.05 

89,770 

118,300 

1.329 

118,310 

155,910 

B 

2000 

1000 

1.70 

3.6 

14.08 

23.98 

1.50 

0.30 

60.14 

105,700 

139,090 

1.316 

118,390 

155,780 

O 

2200 

1000 

2.20 

3.6 

11.97 

26.42 

1.50 

0.30 

59.81 

114,480 

151,470 

1.323 

116,540 

154,201 

D 

2400 

1000 

3.00 

3.6 

9.77 

29.29 

1.50 

0.30 

59.14 

121,190 

162,260 

1.339 

113,110 

151,440 

E 

2400 

2000* 

2.47 

3.6 

11.61 

28.72 

1.50 

0.30 

57.87 

121,190 

165,900 

1.369 

113,290 

154,840 

F 

2400 

2000+ 

3.22 

3.6 

9.98 

32.08 

1.50 

0.30 

56.14 

112,740 

159,090 

1.411 

105,400 

148,480 

G 

2600 

1000 

3.70 

3.6 

8.33 

30.87 

1.50 

0.30 

59.00 

130,500 

175,050 

1.341 

112,430 

150,800 

H 

2200 

1000 

2.20 

6.0 

12.11 

26.68 

1.50 

0.30 

59.41 

112,550 

149,960 

1.332 

114,580 

152,660 

I 

2200 

1000* 

2.20 

6.0 

12.27 

27.01 

1.50 

0.30 

58.92 

111,510 

149,760 

1.343 

113,520 

152,460 

K 

2200 

1000 

2.20 

1.7 

11.90 

26.20 

1.50 

0.30 

60.10 

115,000 

152,730 

1.328 

117,070 

155,480 

L 

2200 

1000 

1.70 

1.7 

13.54 

23.02 

1.50 

0.30 

61.64 

123,950 

159,140 

1.284 

126,190 

162,010 

M 

2200 

1000 

1.70 

6.0 

13.80 

23.46 

1.50 

0.30 

60.94 

120,300 

156,200 

1.298 

122,460 

159,010 

N 

3300 

1800 

5.00 

1.7 

6.55 

32.75 

1.50 

0.30 

58.90 

169,610 

227,880 

1.344 

115,130 

154,680 

0 

3300 

1800 

5.00 

6.0 

6.67 

33.33 

1.50 

0.30 

58.20 

164,650 

223,870 

1.360 

111,760 

151,960 

Sensible 
heat  of 
blast  at 

Calorific 
value 

Energy  in  gas  per  ton  of  coke. 
B.  T.  U. 

Total 
energy  of 
one  ton  of 

Per  cent, 
of  total 

1100°  F. 

of  gas 

coke  plus 

energy 

•      j.ir/ 

per  ton  of 
coke. 
B.  T.  U. 

percu.ft. 
B.  T.  U. 

Calorific 
value. 

Sensible 
heat 
at  500°  F. 

Total 
energy 
at  500°  F. 

the  heat 
in  blast  at 
1100°  F. 

in  tne 
gas  at 
500°  F. 

A 

2,863,100 

77.62 

12,101,700 

1,582,500 

13,684,200 

31,401,100 

43.58 

B 

2.865,000 

87.14 

13,574,700 

1,581,200 

15,155,900 

31,403,000 

48.26 

C 

2,820,300 

95.56 

14,735,400 

1,565,100 

16,300,500 

31,358,300 

51.98 

D 

2,737,300 

105.46 

15,970,900 

1,537,100 

17,508,000 

31,275,300 

55.98 

E 

2,741,600 

103.49 

16,024,400 

1,571,600 

17,596,000 

31,279,600 

56.13 

F 

2,550,700 

115.09 

17,088,600 

1,507,100 

18,595,700 

31,088,700 

59.81 

G 

2,720,900 

110.91 

16,725,200 

1,530,600 

18,255,800 

31,258,900 

58.40 

H 

2,772,800 

96.46 

14,725,600 

1,549,500 

16,275,100 

31,310,800 

51.98 

I 

2,747,200 

97.59 

14,878,600 

1,547,500 

16,426,100 

31,285,200 

52.50 

K 

2,833,100 

94.80 

14,739,500 

1,578,100 

16,317,600 

31,371,100 

52.01 

L 

3,053,800 

83.83 

13,581,300 

1,644,400 

15,225,700 

31,591,800 

48.20 

M 

2,963,500 

85.35 

13,571,500 

1,614,000 

15,185,500 

31,501,500 

48.26 

N 

2,786,100 

117.40 

18,159,400 

1,570,000 

19,729.400 

31,324,100 

62.98 

O 

2,704,600 

119.40 

18,144,000 

1,542,400 

19,686,400 

31,242,600 

63.01 

*  The  CO2  from  the  extra  1000  pounds  of  stone  is  assumed  to  escape  as  CO2. 

t  The  CO2  from  the  extra  1000  pounds  of  stone  is  assumed  to  be  converted  into  CO 
by  the  coke. 

*  In  this  case  the  stone  is  assumed  to  be  one-fourth  M9CO3. 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


75 


cent,  of  free  hydrogen,  and  0.3  per  cent,  of  free  oxygen,  the  hydro- 
gen coming  partly  from  the  volatile  matters  of  the  coke  and  partly 
from  the  decomposition  of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere.  In  a  humid 
summer  day  this  moisture  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  give  1.5  per 
cent,  of  hydrogen  in  the  gas. 

The  results  found  by  calculation  agree  closely  with  the  analyses 
of  actual  gases,  as  shown  by  the  following  averages  of  gas  samples, 
each  sample  being  collected  throughout  the  space  of  one  hour  or 
more.  In  each  case  a  comparison  is  made  between  the  actual  fig- 
ures and  the  line  in  the  foregoing  table  where  the  carbon  ratio 
and  the  working  conditions  are  about  the  same.  The  figures  given 
for  a  carbon  ratio  of  1.24  are  taken  from  Gayley's  paper  on  dry 
blast ;  the  other  analyses  are  all  from  Steelton  furnaces. 


Ratio. 

CO, 

CO 

N+O+H 

Actual  5  tests  .  .  , 

2.97 

9.9 

29.5 

60.6 

Table  

3.00 

9.8 

29.3 

60.9 

Actual  4  tests 

2  19 

12  1 

26.6 

61.4 

Table 

2  20 

12  0 

26  4 

61  6 

Actual  2  tests  .  .  , 

1.71 

13.6 

23.2 

63.2 

Table    

1  70 

13  8 

23  5 

62.7 

Actual 

1  24 

16  0 

19  9 

64  1 

Table  

1.25 

16  9 

21.2 

61.9 

The  table  shows  that  a.  wasteful  furnace  using  high  fuel  and 
having  a  high  carbon  ratio  requires  more  air  per  ton  of  iron  and 
delivers  more  gas,  but  uses  about  the  same  air  and  delivers  about 
the  same  volume  of  gas  per  ton  of  coke  burned.  An  increase  in  the 
amount  of  limestone  increases  in  slight  degree  the  volume  of  gas, 
but  the  quality  of  the  gas  depends  altogether  upon  how  much  of 
the  carbonic  acid  is  converted  into  carbonic  oxide.  It  is  shown  also 
that  it  is  of  little  moment,  as  far  as  the  gas  is  concerned,  whether 
or  not  the  stone  contains  magnesia.  An  increase  or  decrease  in 
the  amount  of  moisture  in  the  air  has  little  influence  upon  the 
amount  or  composition  of  the  gas  so  far  as  theoretical  calculation 
is  concerned,  but  this  has  no  relation  to  the  well-known  fact  that 
with  dry  air  less  fuel  is  needed  and  a  better  dbrbon  ratio  obtained. 

SEC.  IIo. — Rough  estimation  of  the  volume  of  the  gas. — The 
volume  of  gas  can  be  roughly  calculated  by  simple  means.  The  air 
entering  the  tuyeres  contains  79  per  cent,  of  nitrogen  by  volume, 
while  the  tunnel  head  gas  carries  about  60  per  cent.  The  specific 
gravity  of  the  gas  is  almost  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  air,  and  as 


76  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

no  nitrogen  is  lost  or  gained  in  the  interior  of  the  furnace  the 
volume  of  gas  made  from  100,000  cubic  feet  of  air  will  be 

100,000X79 

— s =132.000  cubic  feet. 

60 

In  other  words,  the  volume  of  gas  will  be  about  one-third  more  than 
the  volume  of  air  supplied. 

SEC.  Up. — Rough  estimate  of  the  heat  value  of  the  gas. — The 
percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  gas  runs  about  60  per  cent.,  and  there 
are  from  one  to  two  per  cent,  of  hydrogen  and  some  free  oxygen, 
both  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  being  often  rated  as  nitrogen  by  the 
chemist.  The  carbonic  acid  (C02)  and  the  carbonic  oxide  (CO) 
sum  up  about  38  or  39  per  cent.,  and  this  total  is  fairly  constant 
even  under  wide  variations  in  furnace  conditions.  If,  therefore,  we 
have  a  carbon  ratio  of  2,  the  C02  must  be  about  12.8.  per  cent,  and 
the  00=25.7  per  cent  If  the  ratio  is  3  the  C02=9.6  and  00= 
28.9.  If  the  ratio  is  4  the  C02=7.7  and  00=30.8.  Any  wide 
deviation  from  these  figures  will  usually  arise  from  errors  in 
sampling  or  determinations,  or  from  the  presence  of  unusual 
amounts  of  free  hydrogen.  Abnormal  results  may  be  obtained 
from  samples  taken  over  a  short  period  of  time,  for  the  gas  should 
be  drawn  from  the  furnace  in  a  regular  stream  during  at  least 
one  hour,  to  avoid  temporary  irregularities.  Assuming  the  value 
of  carbonic  oxide  to  be  3070  cals.  per  cubic  metre=345  B.t.u.  per 
cubic  foot,  the  value  of  the  gas  as  above  given  for  a  carbon  ratio  of 
2  would  be  88.7  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot ;  with  a  ratio  of  3  it  would 
be  99.7  B.t.u.  and  with  a  ratio  of  4,  106.3  B.t.u.,  so  that  a  reduction 
from  a  ratio  of  3  to  a  ratio  of  2  means  a  reduction  of  11  per  cent, 
in  the  calorific  value  of  the  gas  per  unit  of  volume. 

SEC.  Ilq. — Steam  in  gas. — Steam  is  always  present  in  tunnel 
head  gas,  but  is  generally  neglected  by  the  chemist,  as  special  ar- 
rangements must  be  made  for  its  determination.  When  the  ore  and 
coke  are  dry  the  ga*  will  carry  about  2  per  cent,  of  steam  by 
volume,  but  when  they  both  carry  10  per  cent,  by  weight  of  water, 
as  sometimes  happens  in  wet  weather,  the  gas  will  contain  8  per 
cent,  and  the  total  volume  produced  will  be  8  per  cent,  more  than 
shown  by  the  table.  Gas  with  this  amount  of  moisture  burns  much 
less  readily  under  the  boilers,  and  there  is  a  loss  of  energy  from 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


77 


unburned  combustible  as  well  as  from  the  sensible  heat  carried 
away  by  the  inert  steam  in  the  products  of  combustion. 

SEC.  Ilr. — Heating  the  blast. — The  energy  present  in  the  tunnel 
head  gases  is  used  for  two  purposes:  (1)  heating  the  blast;  (2) 
producing  power.  It  has  been  shown  in  the  foregoing  calculations 
that  a  normal  furnace,  using  from  1800  to  2300  pounds  of  coke 
per  ton  of  iron,  requires  from  115,000  to  125,000  cubic  feet  of  air 
per  ton  of  coke  burned,  the  exact  volume  depending  on  the  carbon 
ratio  and  other  working  conditions.  Assuming  120,000  cubic  feet 
as  a  basis  and  that  the  air  is  heated  to  1100°  F.,  at  which  tempera- 
ture its  specific  heat  is  .022  B.tu.  per  cu.  ft.,  the  blast  for  one 
ton  of  coke  will  require 

120,000  X 0.022  X 1 100=2,904,000  B.t.u. 

Assuming  that  the  hot  stoves  give  an  efficiency  of  50  per  cent.,  the 
energy  in  the  gas  sent  to  these  stoves  must  amount  to  5,808,000 
B.t.u.  for  each  ton  of  coke  burned.  The  total  energy  contained  in 
the  tunnel  head  gases  under  usual  conditions  amounts  to  about 
16,000,000  B.t.u.  per  ton  of  coke  burned,  so  that  under  the  above 
assumptions  the  stoves  require  a  little  over  one-third  of  all  the 
gas.  This  agrees  with  the  estimates  usually  made  by  furnacemen. 
SEC.  Us. — Combustion  of  the  gas  under  boilers. — The  compo- 
sition of  tunnel  head  gas  varies  widely,  but  the  composition  of  the 
products  of  combustion  obtained  by  burning  different  gases  is  prac- 
tically the  same  without  regard  to  these  variations.  Taking  C  in 
Table  II-F  as  a  normal  gas  and  A  and  0  as  extreme  cases,  the 
gases  resulting  from  their  perfect  combustion  will  be  as  shown  in 
Table  II-G,  when  just  the  amount  of  air  is  used  that  is  theoreti- 
cally necessary : 

TABLE  II-G. 

Products  of  Combustion  of  Tunnel  Head  Gas. 


Composition  of  gas  :  by  volume. 

Composition  of 
products  of  combustion  : 
by  volume. 

CO2 

CO 

H 

O 

N 

CO, 

N 

C 
A 

o 

11.97 
16.93 
6.67 

26.42 
21.22 
33.33 

1.50 
1.50 
1.50 

0.30 
0.30 
0.30 

59.81 
60.05 
58.20 

25.64 
27.05 
24.58 

74.36 
72.95 
75.42 

78  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

In  burning  soft  coal,  no  matter  whether  it  be  burned  directly 
in  a  shallow  fire  or  whether  it  be  first  put  through  a  producer  and 
the  gas  afterward  burned  in  a  furnace,  the  ultimate  products  of 
combustion  with  no  excess  of  air  contain  C02=18  per  cent.,  N= 
82  per  cent.  The  products  of  combustion  from  blast-furnace  gas 
are  much  higher  than  this  in  C02  and  lower  in  N,  because  the  ore 
supplies  oxygen  without  nitrogen,  an  unusual  condition  in  ordi- 
nary processes  of  combustion.  In  most  operations  where  fuel  is 
burned,  twice  the  amount  of  air  must  be  supplied  that  is  theoreti- 
cally necessary  in  order  to  insure  the  complete  burning  of  all  the 
combustible  components  in  the  gas,  and  the  loss  of  heat  arising 
from  this  excess  is  much  less  than  the  loss  arising  from  the  escape 
of  unburned  combustible  when  the  excess  of  air  is  too  small.  Fol- 
lowing is  the  result  of  burning  100  cubic  feet  of  gas  with  twice  the 
theoretical  quantity  of  air : 

100  cu.  ft.  gas+130.3  cu.  ft.  air=214.9  cu.  ft.  products  of 
combustion  of  the  following  composition: 

C02=17.87  per  cent.,  0=6.36  per  cent,  N=75.77  per  cent. 

The  specific  heat  of  gases  varies  with  the  temperature.  In  this 
case  the  whole  mass  of  products  have  a  specific  heat  of  .0198  B.t.u. 
per  cu.  ft.  at  a  temperature  of  32°  F.,  .0213  at  600°  F.  and  .0228 
at  1200°  F.  The  specific  heat  of  the  excess  air  contained  in  these 
products  is  somewhat  less  than  the  average,  being  only  .0192  at  32° 
F.,  but  for  practical  purposes  these  variations  may  be  ignored,  and 
in  calculating  the  waste  of  heat  in  gases  escaping  at  moderate  tem- 
peratures from  boilers  or  stoves  the  specific  heat  may  be  taken  at 
.022  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot,  and  if  twice  the  necessary  amount  of 
air  has  been  used  so  that  the  excess  air  constitutes  30  per  cent, 
of  all  the  products  of  combustion,  it  may  be  assumed  that  this 
air  carries  away  30  per  cent,  of  the  wasted  heat.  The  gas  C  has  a 
calorific  value  of  95.56  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot,  but  counting  its  sen- 
sible heat  at  500°  F.  its  value  is  105.7  B.t.u.  The  value  of  100  cu. 
ft.  will  be  10,570  B.t.u.,  and  the  heat  lost  in  the  products  of  com- 
bustion under  different  conditions  are  as  shown  in  Table  II-H. 

The  temperature  of  gases  escaping  from  boilers  ranges  from 
500°  F.  with  fairly  good  practice  to  1100°  F.  or  more  with  bad  prac- 
tice. The  loss  of  heat  due  to  this  cause  is  22  per  cent,  of  the  total 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


79 


value  of  the  fuel  under  good  practice  to  49  per  cent,  or  more  under 
bad  practice.  One-third  of  this  loss  is  due  to  the  excess  air,  it 
being  assumed  that  twice  the  necessary  amount  is  used.  The  dif- 

TABLE  II-H. 
Loss  of  Heat  in  Products  of  Combustion. 


Temperature  of 
waste  gas. 
Degrees  Fahr. 

Heat  loss  ; 
per  cent,  of  fuel  value. 

Heat  utilized  ; 
per  cent,  of 
fuel  value. 

Proportionate 
fuel  needed. 

By  excess 
air. 

Total. 

500 
800 
1100 
1400 

11 
15 
19 

22 

36 
49 
63 

78 
64 
51 
37 

100 
122 
153 
211 

ference  between  good  and  bad  practice  is  27  per  cent,  or  just  about 
one-quarter  of  the  total  value  of  the  fuel.  A  boiler  forced  beyond 
its  capacity  so  that  the  escaping  gases  are  at  a  temperature  of  1100° 
F.  will  need  53  per  cent,  more  fuel  than  one  where  the  gases  are 
at  500°  F.  If  the  stack  is  red  hot,  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
the  boiler  is  using  twice  as  much  fuel  as  is  needed  under  good 
conditions. 

SEC.  lit. — Use  of  tunnel  head  gas  for  the  production  of  power 
by  steam  engines. — It  has  been  shown  that  a  boiler  under  good 
conditions  loses  in  the  stack  gases  from  20  to  30  per  cent,  of  all  the 
energy  in  the  fuel.  There  are  other  losses,  as,  for  instance,  by  ra- 
diation, so  that  the  average  modern  boiler  plant  running  on  furnace 
gas  will  probably  not  give  over  60  per  cent,  efficiency.  It  has  also 
been  proven  that  the  tunnel  head  gas  from  one  ton  of  coke  contains 
energy  equivalent  to  16,000,000  B.t.u.  and  that  the  stoves  require 
5,000,000  B.t.u.,  leaving  11,000,000  B.t.u.  for  the  production  of 
power.  In  a  furnace  using  400  tons  of  coke  per  day  the  amount 
available  would  be  4,400,000,000  B.t.u.  per  day.  The  pumps  and 
hoisting  engines  require,  say,  300  B.h.-p.,  or  a  total  of  240,000,000 
B.tu.  in  the  form  of  steam.  Assuming  60  per  cent,  efficiency  in 
the  boiler  plant,  this  represents  400,000,000  B.tu.  in  the  gas,  which, 
being  subtracted  from  4,400,000,000,  leaves  4,000,000,000  B.tu. 
for  the  blowing  engine  and  other  purposes.  A  good  engine  requires 
about  9-16  of  one  boiler  horse-power  to  produce  an  indicated  horse- 


80  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

power,  or  450,000  B.t.u.  per  24  hours.  Assuming  60  per  cent,  effi- 
ciency in  the  boiler  plant,  each  engine  horse-power  calls  for 
450,000-^-0.6=750,000  B.t.u.  per  24  hours,  and  the  foregoing  figure 
of  4,000,000,000  B.tu.  represents  5330  horse-power.  Of  this 
amount  the  blowing  engine  will  require  3000  horse-power,  leaving 
a  surplus  of  2330  horse-power  for  other  purposes. 

SEC.  IIu. — Use  of  tunnel  head  gas  for  the  production  of  power 
~by  gas  engines. — It  has  just  been  shown  that  a  400-ton  blast  fur- 
*nace,  after  supplying  its  stoves,  pumps,  and  hoisting  engines,  has 
4,000,000,000  B.t.u.  per  day  available  for  the  blowing  engines  and 
for  surplus.  This  is  true  for  a  steam  equipment,  but  the  figure  is 
somewhat  less  for  gas  engines,  since  in  the  latter  case  the  sensible 
heat  of  the  gas  is  of  no  value.  This  sensible  heat  is  1,500,000  out 
of  a  total  of  16,000,000  B.t.u.,  so  that  by  proportion  the  amount 
available  for  the  gas  engine  plant  will  be  3,600,000,000  per  day. 
Assuming  that  a  gas  engine  will  produce  one  horse-power  from 
360,000  B.t.u.  per  day,  there  will  be  a  total  of  10,000  horse-power, 
or  a  surplus  of  7000  horse-power  after  the  blowing  engine  is 
supplied. 

SEC.  IIv. — General  conclusions  on  the  production  of  power  from 
tunnel  head  gas. — The  energy  in  one  ton  of  coke  is  about 
28,500,000  B.t.u.  The  blast  when  heated  to  1100°  F.  carries  about 
2,500,000  B.t.u.  or  8  per  cent,  additional,  making  a  total  of 
31,000,000  B.t.u.  entering  the  furnace  per  ton  of  coke.  Half  of 
this  energy  is  dissipated  in  the  furnace,  while  the  other  half  is 
contained  in  the  tunnel  head  gas.  The  calorific  value  of  the  gas 
from  a  ton  of  coke  is  about  14,500,000  B.tu.,  but  the  sensible 
heat  at  a  temperature  of  500°  F.  is  1,500,000  B.t.u.,  making  a  total 
of  16,000,000  B.t.u.  or  one-half  the  amount  entering  the  furnace. 
Thus  out  of  every  100  units  of  energy  contained  in  the  coke  and  the 
blast,  50  units  come  out  in  the  gas,  but  of  these  50  units  it  is  neces- 
sary to  send  17  units  to  the  stoves,  in  order  that  8  units  may 
appear  in  the  blast,  it  being  assumed  that  the  stoves  have  an  effi- 
ciency of  50  per  cent.  This  leaves  33  units  for  the  production  of 
power.  If  gas  engines  are  used  the  sensible  heat  will  not  be  avail- 
able and  only  30  units  will  be  of  use.  In  either  case  the  amount  is 
sufficient,  when  economical  engines  are  used,  to  drive  the  blowing 
engine  and  pumps,  and  have  a  considerable  surplus.  In  the  case 
of  a  furnace  using  400  tons  of  coke  per  day,  and  equipped  with 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE.  81 

steam  machinery,  this  surplus  should  be  about  2000  indicated 
horse-power.  With  gas  engines  it  should  be  7000  horse-power.  The 
above  figures  are  true  only  for  usual  operating  conditions,  for 
with  an  unusually  low  fuel  ratio  there  will  be  less  surplus,  while 
with  abnormally  high  coke  consumption  the  surplus  will  be  greater, 
but  the  variation  is  less  than  might  be  expected,  as  the  calculations 
are  based  on  a  ton  of  coke  charged  and  not  a  ton  of  iron  smelted. 

SEC.  IIw. — Composition  of  pig-iron. — Carbon:  The  metal  pro- 
duced by  the  blast  furnace  is  not  pure  iron,  for  while  it  is  in  con- 
tact with  white-hot  coke  it  absorbs  a  certain  proportion,  of  carbon. 
The  amount  absorbed  is  quite  constant,  seldom  being  less  than  3.25, 
nor  more  than  4.25  per  cent.  When  the  iron  is  in  a  melted  state 
all  of  this  carbon  is  chemically  combined  with  the  iron,  but  as  the 
metal  cools  there  is  a  tendency  for  it  to  separate  as  graphite.  This 
separation  requires  an  appreciable  time  and  can  be  prevented  by 
sudden  cooling.  If  a  small  quantity  of  liquid  iron  be  chilled  in  a 
stream  of  water  or  an  iron  mold,  almost  all  the  carbon  will  remain 
combined,  and  the  metal  be  hard  and  brittle.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  large  mass  of  iron  be  poured  in  sand  and  covered  so  as  to 
cool  slowly,  the  separation  of  carbon  will  go  on  for  a  long  time, 
and  the  resulting  metal  will  be  soft  and  tough  and  a  fractured 
surface  will  exhibit  loose  flakes  of  graphite. 

Silicon:  Pig-iron  contains  silicon  from  the  reduction  of  silica; 
Si02+2C=Si-f-2CO.  This  silica  is  always  present  in  iron  ore, 
in  the  ash  of  the  coke  and  in  the  limestone.  It  is  difficult  to  reduce, 
and  if  the  temperature  of  the  furnace  is  low  the  iron  will  contain 
only  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  silicon,  while  if  the  furnace 
is  hot  the  reducing  action  of  the  coke  is  more  powerful  and  the 
iron  may  contain  four  or  five  per  cent. ;  while  under  special  condi- 
tions an  alloy  called  ferro-silicon  may  be  produced  with  over  ten 
per  cent.  Silicon  tends  to  drive  carbon  out  of  combination  into  the 
free  or  graphitic  state,  so  that  a  pig  rich  in  silicon  will  usually 
have  an  open  fracture,  but  this  iron  will  often  contain  less  carbon 
than  ordinary  iron,  as  the  high  silicon  prevents  the  absorption  of 
the  usual  proportion. 

Phosphorus :  The  amount  of  phosphorus  present  in  pig-iron  de- 
pends upon  the  materials  used,  for  whatever  of  this  element  exists 
in  the  ore,  in  the  coke,  or  in  the  limestone  will  be  found  in  the 
metal.  In  pig-iron  intended  for  foundry  work  the  phosphorus  may 


83  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

vary  through  wide  limits,  contents  as  high  as  three  per  cent,  being 
sometimes  used  in  admixture.  Such  a  large  amount  gives  a  brittle 
iron,  but  it  gives  increased  fluidity,  which  is  advantageous  in  mak- 
ing complicated  castings.  For  ordinary  castings  a  content  of  about 
one-half  of  one  per  cent,  is  usual.  For  the  making  of  steel  by  the 
acid  Bessemer  process,  as  used  throughout  America,  the  iron  must 
not  contain  over  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  phosphorus.  Inas- 
much as  nearly  two  tons  of  ore  are  used  for  a  ton  of  pig-iron,  and 
as  the  coke  and  limestone  both  contribute  phosphorus,  it  will  be 
seen  that  suitable  "Bessemer  ore"  should  have  less  than,  one-twen- 
tieth of  one  per  cent,  of  this  element.  The  steel  maker  classifies  all 
the  ores  of  the  world  by  the  second  and  third  place  decimal  of  one 
per  cent,  of  phosphorus. 

Sulphur :  Iron  ores  as  a  rule  are  low  in  sulphur,  but  coke  always 
contains  a  considerable  amount,  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  being  very 
low  and  one  and  one-half  per  cent,  quite  common.  If  the  blast 
furnace  is  working  well  with  a  good  slag  and  a  high  temperature, 
almost  all  of  this  sulphur  will  unite  with  the  lime  and  be  carried 
off  in  the  cinder  and  the  iron  will  contain  less  than  one-twentieth 
of  one  per  cent,  of  sulphur ;  but  if  the  furnace  is  cold  and  the  slag 
not  sufficiently  basic,  the  metal  may  contain  over  half  of  one  per 
cent.  Sulphur  tends  to  hold  carbon  in  combination,  and  therefore 
iron  containing  a  high  percentage  is  usually  hard  and  brittle,  this 
being  especially  the  case  when  the  percentage  of  silicon  is  low,  a 
condition  often  existing,  as  a  cold  furnace  is  likely  to  produce  high 
sulphur  and  low  silicon. 

Manganese:  Iron  ores  generally  contain  more  or  less  man- 
ganese, but  usually  in  small  proportion.  Moreover,  it  is  not  all 
reduced  in  the  furnace,  some  of  it  passing  away  in  the  slag.  The 
ordinary  pig-iron  of  commerce  carries  less  than  one  per  cent.,  but 
two  per  cent,  is  not  uncommon.  In  the  manufacture  of  steel  a 
large  amount  of  spiegel  iron  is  used,  by  which  is  meant  an  iron 
containing  from.  10  to  26  per  cent,  of  manganese.  Ferro-manganese 
is  also  used  containing  up  to  80  per  cent.  Manganese  causes  the 
carbon  to  remain  in  combination  so  that  spiegel  iron  is  hard  and 
brittle.  The  total  content  of  carbon  is  higher  in  manganiferous 
irons,  being  often  up  to  7  per  cent,  in  80  per  cent,  ferro-manganese. 

Other  Elements :  Many  other  elements  are  often  found.  Copper 
is  easily  reduced  in  the  furnace,  and  some  irons  contain  over  one 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


83 


per  cent.,  with  no  effect  upon  the  physical  qualities.  Chromium 
is  also  easily  reduced,  but  is  uncommon,  and,  as  it  causes  brittleness, 
the  pig-iron  is  unmarketable.  Titanium  is  partly  reduced,  and 

TABLE  II-I. 
Composition  of  Various  Pig-Irons  and  Spiegels. 


*-5 

Op. 

o'g 

*a 

i 

8 
4 
6 
6 

8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 

10 

Chemical  Composition,  Per  Cent. 

Kind  of  Iron. 

Authority. 

Fe 

Graph 
ite. 

Comb. 
Carb. 

Si 

P 

S 

Mil 

92.37 
92.31 
94.66 
94.48 
94.68 

3.52 
2.99 
2.50' 
2.02 

0.13 
0.37 
1.52 
1.98 
3.83 
4.27 
4.78 
5.63 
6.53 
7.20 
3.56 
2.56 
1.85 
.98 
.30 
.05 
.06 
.23 
.11 

2.44 
2.52 
.72 
.56 
.41 
1.10 
.52 
.42 
.97 
.14 
4.90 
4.20 
10.74 
12.60 
15.94 
8.77 
11.20 
14.00 
17.80 

1.25 
1.08 
.26 
.19 
.04 

.02 
.02 
tr. 
.08 
.02 

.28 
.72 
.34 
.67 
.98 
8.11 
19.74 
41.82 
80.04 
80.04 
23.90 
50.00 
19.64 
19.74 
24.36 
2.42 
2.78 
1.95 
1.07 

No.  1  Gray, 
No.  2  Gray, 
No.  3  Gray, 
Mottled, 
White, 
Spiegel, 

Ferro-manganese, 
u 
Silico-spiegel, 

• 

« 
Ferro-silicon, 
« 

(Hart  man. 
Jour.  Frank, 
InsL,  Vol. 
cx:£xiv, 
p.  132. 

Hadfield, 
Journal 
>  I.  and  8.  1- 
Vol.  11,  1889, 
p.  226. 

• 

.33 
J57 
'JB0 

2.35 
1.85 
1.20 

.n 

.  .  . 

.  . 

some  irons  contain  one  per  cent,  or  more,  but  this  element  is  un- 
desirable to  the  steel  maker.  Vanadium,  arsenic  and  many  other 
elements  are  often  present  in  iron  where  their  presence  is  not  sus- 
pected, but  in  quantities  so  minute  as  to  be  harmless.  The  compo- 
sition of  various  pig-irons  and  spiegels  is  shown  in  Table  II-I. 

SEC.  IIx. — The  structure  of  cast-iron. — The  structure  of  cast- 
iron  has  been  thoroughly  investigated  by  Prof.  Howe.  He  argues 
that  pig-iron  and  steel  form  a  continuous  series;  that  steel  is  a 
grade  of  cast-iron,  and  cast-iron  a  grade  of  steel.  It  is  well  known 
that  steel  is  a  mixture  or  alloy  of  two  components,  ferrite  and  ce- 
mentite ;  but  these  two  substances  combine  together  in  one  definite 
proportion,  and  in  one  proportion  only,  to  form  pearlite.  The  pro- 
portion is  seven  parts  of  ferrite  to  one  of  cementite,  so  that  pearlite 
contains  about  0.80  per  cent,  of  carbon.  Steel  or  iron  containing 
more  than  0.80  per  cent,  of  carbon  cannot  all  be  pearlite,  but  the 
pearlite  which  is  present  will  contain,  if  the  metal  is  cooled  slowly, 
the  full  quantity  of  carbon  represented  by  0.80  per  cent,  of  the 
mass,  and  the  rest  of  the  carbon  will  exist  in  some  other  form; 


84  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

part  may  exist  in  combination  as  cementite,  and  part  as  graphite. 
Steel  containing  0.90  per  cent,  of  carbon,  if  cooled  slowly,  will  be 
mostly  pearlite,  but  will  usually  contain  a  trace  of  graphite  and 
some  cementite.  Pig-iron  with  4  per  cent,  of  carbon  cannot  con- 
tain more  pearlite  than  the  steel  just  mentioned,  but  there  will  be 
just  so  much  more  carbon  to  form  either  graphite  or  cementite. 
The  amount  of  graphite  will  depend  upon  several  conditions.  A  hot 
blast  furnace  will  give  a  higher  percentage  than  a  cold  furnace,  and 
high  silicon  will  also  cause  the  separation  of  free  carbon,  while 
manganese  and  sulphur  will  cause  the  carbon  to  remain  combined. 
Cast-iron  with  1.25  per  cent,  combined  carbon  is  really  steel,  but 
weakened  and  embrittled  by  graphite.  In  the  same  way  cast-iron 
with  3  per  cent,  of  combined  carbon  plus  1  per  cent,  of  graphite  is 
a  mechanical  mixture  of  two  substances:  (1)  99  parts  white  cast- 
iron  containing  3  per  cent,  of  combined  carbon,  and  (2)  1  part  of 
graphite.  The  contention  that  graphite  "weakens  and  embrittles" 
cast-iron  is  founded  on  the  fact  that  pig-irons  containing  the  same 
proportion  of  silicon,  manganese  and  sulphur  carry  the  same  pro- 
portion of  total  carbon,  no  matter  whether  they  are  gray  or  white. 
An  increase  in  graphite  means  a  decrease  in  combined  carbon,  and 
since  one-quarter  of  the  carbon  is  in  the  form  of  pearlite,  and  since 
cementite  must  contain  6.57  per  cent,  of  carbon,  it  follows  that  if 
much  carbon  exists  as  graphite,  the  proportion  of  cementite  de- 
creases and  the  proportion  of  soft  ferrite  increases,  with  a  tough- 
ening of  the  mass.  This  toughening  is  usually  ascribed  to  graphite, 
when  in  reality  the  graphite  weakens  the  iron  by  destroying  its 
continuity.  Thus  silicon  will  toughen  iron  because  it  drives  the 
carbon  into  the  condition  of  graphite,  while  manganese  will  make 
it  brittle  because  it  causes  it  to  combine. 


CHAPTER  III. 

\J  WKOUGHT-IRON. 

SECTION  Ilia. — The  puddling  process. — When  pig-iron  is  melted 
on  a  hearth  of  iron,  ore  and  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  flame, 
there  is  a  rapid  oxidation  of  the  metalloids.  The  silicon,  man- 
ganese,, sulphur  and  phosphorus  unite  with  oxygen  to  form  a  slag, 
while  the  carbon  escapes  as  carbonic  oxide  and  carbonic  acid.  The 
iron  then  becomes  less  fusible,  and  in  an  ordinary  reverberatory 
furnace  the  heat  is  not  sufficient  to  keep  the  mass  liquid.  It  becomes 
viscous,  then  pasty,  and  finally  is  worked  into  balls,  taken  from  the 
furnace,  and  squeezed  or  hammered  into  a  bloom. 

The  crude  puddle-ball  is  made  up  of  an  innumerable  number  of 
globules  of  nearly  pure  iron,  while  the  interstices  between  the  par- 
ticles are  filled  with  slag.  The  squeezer  expels  much  of  this  slag 
and  each  subsequent  rolling  removes  a  further  quantity,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  get  rid  of  all  the  cinder,  and  it  forms  a  skeleton 
which  permeates  the  finished  bar,  forming  planes  of  separation  be- 
tween the  particles  of  metallic  iron.  These  films  weaken  the  ma- 
terial by  destroying  the  cohesion  of  the  particles,  but  in  other  ways 
they  are  of  benefit,  for  the  sulphur  and  phosphorus  are  never  en- 
tirely removed  in  puddling,  and  there  is  usually  a  sufficient  per- 
centage of  them  left  to  give  bad  results  if  they  were  able  to  exert 
their  full  effect  in  producing  crystallization,  but  the  network  of  slag 
prevents  the  tendency  to  crystallize.  If  bar-iron  be  melted  in  a 
crucible,  the  slag  separates  and  the  impurities  have  a  chance  to 
exert  their  full  force.  Some  pure  irons  will  successfully  undergo 
this  test,  but  most  brands  give  a  worthless  metal  after  fusion.  The 
first  rolling  of  the  puddle-ball  gives  a  crude  product  known  as  muck- 
bar.  For  the  making  of  merchant  iron,  this  intermediate  product, 
together  with  miscellaneous  wrought-iron  scrap,  is  bundled  into 
"piles"  and  rolled  into  the  desired  shape. 

SEC,  Illb. — Effect  of  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon. — The  char- 

85 


86  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

acter  of  the  product  will  depend  upon  its  chemical  composition, 
and  this  in  turn  upon  the  composition  of  the  pig-iron  from  which 
it  is  made  and  upon  the  care  and  skill  with  which  the  operation 
has  been  conducted.  There  are  five  elements  commonly  found  in 
pig-iron  which  have  an  important  bearing  on  the  finished  material. 

Silicon. — This  element  may  be  regarded  as  an  almost  unmitigated 
evil,  since  it  produces  silica  which  is  not  wanted  in  a  basic  slag. 
Moreover,  its  union  with  oxygen  does  not  form  a  gas,  and  during 
its  elimination  the  bath  lies  dead  and  sluggish.  Metallic  iron  is 
set  free  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  from  the  ore,  but  this  is  more 
than  offset  by  the  iron  oxide  which  is  held  by  the  silica.  Some  sili- 
con is  oxidized  during  the  melting,  so  that  the  boil  begins  very  soon 
after  fusion.  With  workmen  accustomed  to  high  silicon  iron,  there 
is  considerable  waste  in  using  a  lower  grade,  because  the  latter  melts 
at  a  higher  temperature,  and,  since  there  is  not  enough  silica  pro- 
duced from  the  portions  first  melted  to  give  a  proper  quantity  of 
slag,  the  bare  metal  is  exposed  after  melting  to  a  hot  flame  and 
fumes  of  iron  oxide  escape  to  the  stack.  The  same  trouble  is  ex- 
perienced in  changing  from  a  pig-iron  cast  in  sand  to  one  cast  in 
chills,  but  this  loss  in  both  cases  can  be  avoided  by  regulating  the 
operation  so  that  all  the  iron  is  melted  at  one  time,  and  by  keeping 
the  metal  covered  with  a  fluid  cinder,  better  results  being  obtained, 
both  in  time  and  waste,  than  with  an  iron  containing  a  higher 
percentage  of  silicon,  or  one  which  carries  adhering  sand. 

Manganese. — Although  acting  in  the  same  way  as  silicon  in  giv- 
ing a  dead  bath,  manganese  is  not  as  objectionable,  for  its  oxide 
is  a  base  which  replaces  an  equal  quantity  of  iron  oxide,  and  aids 
in  the  elimination  of  sulphur. 

Carbon. — Speaking  only  of  ordinary  forge-irons,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  carbon  runs  from  3.0  to  4.0  per  cent.  It  is  often  sup- 
posed that  a  mottled  or  white  iron  will  necessarily  be  low  in  this 
element,  but  such  is  by  no  means  a  certainty,  for  the  close  grain 
may  arise  from  low  silicon,  which  is  an  advantage,  from  high  man- 
ganese, which  is  a  disadvantage,  or  from  sulphur,  which  is  a  de- 
cided injury.  Low  carbon,  moreover,  is  not  a  vital  matter,  for  al- 
though this  element  lengthens  the  boil,  it  facilitates  fusion,  and  its 
union  with  the  oxygen  of  the  ore  reduces  metallic  iron  without 
forming  any  objectionable  component  of  the  slag. 

SEC.  IIIc.— Sulphur  and  phosphorus  in  the  puddling  furnace: 


WROUGHT    IRON. 


87 


Sulphur. — The  content  of  sulphur  in  pig-iron  is  determined  more 
by  the  working  of  the  blast  furnace  than  by  the  nature  of  the  ore ; 
but  the  demand  for  a  low-silicon,  low-carbon,  close-grained  iron  for 
the  puddler  sometimes  results  in  a  pig  containing  from  .10  to  .50 
per  cent,  of  sulphur.  This  is  reduced  in  the  process  of  puddling  by 
passing  away  as  sulphurous  acid  and  by  being  carried  off  in  the 
cinder. 

Phosphorus. — This  element  is  under  more  or  less  control,  and  it 
may  be  roughly  stated  that  three-quarters  of  the  total  content  may 

TABLE  III-A. 
Elimination  of  the  Metalloids  in  Puddling. 


Nature  of 
Sample. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

Metal. 

Slag. 

81 

Carbon 

d 
X 

P 

8 

SiO, 

SiO9 

i 

FeO 

MnO 

PtO. 

PIG  IRON  No.  1, 
Refined, 
Finished  bar, 

2.80 
.12 
.19 

8.12 
2.50 
tr. 

1.47 

.84 
27 

.11 
tr. 
tr. 

PIG  IKON  No.  2, 
After  melting. 
During  the  boil 

u    •     a       <( 

Finished  bar, 

1.236 

.821 
.200 
.051 
.098 

3.180 
2.830 
2.800 
1.170 
.150 

•  '• 

1.494 
.913 
.582 
.519 
.452 

.111 
.096 

PIG  I  RON  No.  8, 
Refined, 
Forming  into 
grain, 
Dropping  on 
grain, 
Finished  bar, 

1.36 
.07 

.04 

.04 

.07 

3.20 
2.00 

1.90 

1.15 
.05 

"•••• 

1.39 

.17 

.32 
.20 

.30 

.33 

.06 
.02 

tr. 
.04 

Pio  IRON  No.  4, 
After  melting, 
Bath  growing 
thicker, 
Coming  up  on 
boif, 
Beginning  to 
drop. 
Dropped;  in- 
fusible, 
Balling, 
Finished  bar, 

! 

_£ 

I 

O 

Lll 

.14 

0.61 
1.89 
1.75 
1.57 

1.10 
.25 
.16 

1.75 
tr. 

.78 
tr. 
.09 
tr. 

tr. 

tr. 

.07 

.36 
.25 
.26 
.23 

.23 
.25 

.09 

24.04 
27.17 
27.77 
27.46 

25.72 
15.79 

18.74 
5.28 
4.81 
4.19 

4.20 
9.21 

5L22 
59.56 
59.95 

58.41 

60.61 
69.52 

4.42 
6.17 

5.29 
55.45 

4.65 
2.81 

L30 
2.12 
2.19 
2.22 

2.07 
L66 

.74 

1.01 

1.37 
.91 
.28 

NOTE. — The  data  on  pig-irons  Nos.  1,  2  and  3  are  taken  from  investigations 
by  Bell ;  see  Journal  I.  and  8.  I.,  Vol.  I,  1877,  pages  120  and  122. 

Those  on  No.  4  are  from  a  paper  by  Louis,  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  I,  1879, 
p.  222,  it  being  stated  that  after  the  fourth  test  it  was  impossible  to  get  a  fair 
average  owing  to  the  viscosity  of  the  mass. 


88  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

be  eliminated,  this  broad  formula  being  profoundly  influenced  by 
the  skill  of  the  puddler  and  the  purity  of  the  reagents.  The  chemi- 
cal history  of  the  puddling  process  is  shown  by  Table  III-A. 

SEC.  Hid. — Effect  of  the  temperature  upon  puddling. — The 
temperature  of  the  furnace  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  product,  particularly  when  much  carbon  is  present. 
Experiments  by  Stead*  show  that  in  the  refining  process,  which  cor- 
responds to  the  first  part  of  the  puddling  process,  the  elimination 
of  phosphorus  was  inversely  as  the  temperature,  ranging  from  46 
per  cent,  in  hot  charges  to  91  per  cent,  with  cold  working,  in  each 
case  about  96  per  cent,  of  the  silicon  and  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  the 
carbon  being  oxidized.  For  many  years  the  phenomenon  was  ex- 
plained by  supposing  that  phosphorus  would  not  unite  with  oxygen 
at  high  temperatures,  and  this  was  deemed  to  be  proven  by  the  fact 
that  phosphorus  was  not  burned  in  the  acid  Bessemer  converter. 
It  is  now  known  that  the  reduction  of  phosphorus  by  high  heat 
in  the  puddling  furnace  is  due  to  the  simple  fact  that  carbon  has 
a  greater  affinity  for  oxygen  as  the  temperature  rises,  so  that  it  re- 
duces the  phosphate  of  iron  and  returns  the  phosphorus  to  the 
metal. 

It  is  the  practice  at  most  works  to  remove  part  of  the  slag  while 
the  metal  is  high  in  carbon,  the  product  being  called  "boilings," 
while  the  slag  which  is  left  in  the  furnace  at  the  end  of  the  opera- 
tion and  which  is  sometimes  tapped  from  the  bottom  is  called  "tap- 
pings/7 This  last  cinder  is  often  allowed  to  remain,  or,  if  tapped, 
is  charged  with  the  next  heat  to  furnish  a  rich  slag  in  the  early 
part  of  the  process,  since  the  fettling  of  iron  ore  is  so  infusible 
that  it  cannot  furnish  a  cinder  until  a  high  temperature  is  at- 
tained. The  removal  of  the  "boilings"  during  the  operation  hastens 
the  work,  gives  less  cutting  of  the  bottom,  and  renders  the  "balling" 
easier.  It  also  aids  dephosphorization,  for  during  the  first  part 
of  the  operation  the  charge  is  at  a  low  temperature,  and  the  slag 
carries  a  higher  percentage  of  phosphorus  than  it  would  retain  if 
it  were  kept  in  the  furnace  and  exposed  to  a  high  temperature  and 
the  reducing  action  of  carbon.  By  tapping  during  the  first  part  of 
the  boil,  the  greater  part  of  the  silica  and  phosphorus  is  removed 
and  there  is  an  opportunity  to  make  a  new  slag  richer  in  iron  and  of 

*  Journal  I.  and  S.  /.,  Vol.  II,  1877,  p.  372. 


WROUGHT   IRON. 


89 


greater  dephosphorizing  power.  The  first  slag  is  known  as  puddle 
or  mill  cinder  and  is  often  used  in  the  blast  furnace.  It  is  variable 
in  composition,  as  shown  in  Table  III-B. 


TABLE  III-B. 
Composition  of  Puddle  or  Mill  Cinder. 


Where  Made. 

Authority. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

SiO, 

Fe 

P 

Mn 

8 

Harrisburg,  Pa., 

u 

Troy,N.  Y., 
Ironton,  Ohio, 
Marietta,  Ohio, 

Three  English  Works, 
"  Boilings," 

Three  English  Works, 
"  Tappings," 

Author. 

« 

• 
« 

Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E., 
Vol.  IX,  p.  14, 
Trans.A.f.M.E., 
Vol.  IX,  p.  14, 
Trans.  A.  f.M.E., 
Vol.  IX,  p.  14, 

I.  and  8.  1.,  Journal, 
Vol.  1,  1891,  p.  119, 

I.  and  8.  1.,  Journal, 
Vol.  1,  &91,  p.  119, 

19.91 
11.64 
19.58 
21.38 

13^1 
30.00 
21.58 

19.45 
15.47 

49.07 
60.86 
55.06 
56.04 

53.44 
50.59 
51.42 

53^5 
59.29 

1.10 
1.07 
1.81 
1.41 

1.91 
0.54 

1.40 

2.76 
1.71 

1.27 

.  .  .  . 

'a.62' 

0.24 

SEC.  Hie. — Effect  of  work  upon  wrought-iron. — The  influence 
of  different  elements  upon  wrought-iron  has  never  been  fully  dis- 
covered, owing  to  many  disturbing  conditions,  foremost  among 
which  is  the  effect  of  varying  amounts  of  work  upon  the  finished  ma- 
terial. This  question  arises  in  the  case  of  steel,  but  is  more  im- 
portant in  wrought-iron,  since  the  strength  of  the  bar  will  depend 
upon  the  thoroughness  with  which  the  pieces  forming  the  mass 
have  been  welded  together.  In  Table  III-C  axe  given  results  ob- 
tained at  the  Central  Iron  and  Steel  Works  at  Harrisburg,  Pa., 
from  plates  rolled  on  their  three-high  train,  and  on  a  25-inch  uni- 
versal mill.  The  better  figures  for  the  latter  mill  are  due  to  the 
more  complete  development  of  fiber  by  the  continuous  rolling  in  one 
direction.  The  width  was  alike  for  similar  thicknesses,  and  no 
difference  was  found  in  the  universal  plates  whether  they  were  9 
or  42  inches  in  width. 

Usually  there  is  a  retrogression  in  quality  as  the  size  of  the  fin- 
ished piece  increases,  and  this  is  recognized  in  specifications. 

SEC.  Illf. — Heterogeneity  of  wrought-iron. — The  most  com- 
plete investigation  on  the  subject  of  wrought-iron  is  a  report  by 


90 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


Holley*  on  the  work  of  a  Board  appointed  by  the  United  States 
Government  to  test  material  for  chain  cables.  It  was  found  that  the 
tenacity  of  2-inch  bars  for  chain  cables  should  be  from  48,000  to 

TABLE  III-C. 
Wrought-Iron  Plates  from  Shear  and  Universal  Mills. 


Sheared  Plates. 


£9 


I! 
& 


il 

II 

3 


.2  a 

33  9 

o  o 


Universal  Mill  Plates. 


W 


si 
3- 


co 

d 

i! 

d  ** 


61800 


11.2 


18.9 


81180 

80775 
80400 


49760 
50200 
49050 


14.2 
15.5 
16.0 


22. 

22.5 

22.4 


82100 
81050 
81100 
80500 
81470 


51000 
50650 
50530 


52570 


13.0 
14.6 
17.8 
17.2 
19.0 


19.9 
21.6 
26.2 
24.6 


52,000  pounds  per  square  inch,  while  1-inch  bars  should  show 
53,000  to  57,000  pounds.  This  conclusion  illustrates  the  pro- 
found influence  of  reduction  in  rolling.  The  slag  varied  from  0.192 
per  cent,  to  2.262  per  cent,  of  the  total  weight  of  the  iron.  Some 
makers  may  have  supposed  that  slag  would  facilitate  welding,  but 
the  investigation  did  not  bear  this  out,  for  it  is  distinctly  stated 
that,  while  "slag  should  theoretically  improve  welding,  like  any 
flux,  its  effect  in  these  experiments  could  not  be  definitely  traced." 
On  the  contrary,  the  iron  highest  in  slag  (2.26  per  cent.)  "welded 
less  soundly  than  any  other  bar  of  the  same  iron,  and  below  average 
as  compared  with  the  other  irons."  The  percentage  of  slag  not  only 
varied  in  different  brands  of  iron,,  but  in  pieces  of  the  same  make. 
This  was  true  also  of  all  the  factors  investigated.  Table  III-D 
shows  the  variations  in  the  same  make  of  iron,  two  extreme  cases 
being  given  under  each  head.  It  also  gives  the  maximum  and 
minimum  individual  records. 

SEC.  Illg. — Conditions  affecting  the  welding  properties. — Con- 
ditions of  varying  work,  percentages  of  slag,  and  irregularity  of  the 
same  irons,  not  to  mention  the  possible  overheating  of  piles,  com- 


*  The  Strength  of  Wrought-Iron  as  Affected  by  its  Composition  and  by  its  Reduction 
in  Rolling.    Trans.A.  I.  M.  E  ,  Vol.  VI,  p.  101. 


WROUGHT   IRON. 


91 


plicate  the  relation  between  the  chemical  composition  and  the  physi- 
cal properties,  and  it  need  not  be  wondered  that  the  committee 
could  not  find  the  exact  influence  of  each  chemical  component. 

TABLE  III-D. 

Variations  in  Specimens  Submitted  to  the  United  States  Board  for 
Testing  Chain  Cables. 


Subject. 

Same  Iron 

All  Irons. 

Min. 

Max. 

Min. 

Max. 

Carbon,  per  cent., 

.026 
.042 

.064 
.512 

.015 

.513 

Phosphorus,  per  cent., 

.065 
.096 

.232 
.250 

.065 

.317 

Silicon,  per  cent., 

.028 
.182 

.182 
.821 

.028 

.321 

Manganese,  per  cent., 

tr. 
.021 

.059 
.097 

tr. 

.087 

Slag,  per  cent., 

0.674 
1.248 

1.738 
2.262 

0.192 

2.262 

Ultimate  strength,  pounds  per  square  inch, 

56201 
47478 

69779 
57367 

47478 

69779 

Elongation  in  8  inches,  per  cent., 

11.7 
14.1 

20.6 
82.5 

6.5 

82.7      ' 

Reduction  of  area,  per  cent., 

27.7 
16.0 

59.8 
31.5 

7.7 

593 

There  was  formulated,  however,  the  following  valuable  conclusion: 
"Although  most  of  the  irons  under  consideration  are  much  alike  in 
composition,  the  hardening  effects  of  phosphorus  and  silicon  can  be 
traced,  and  that  of  carbon  is  obvious.  Phosphorus  up  to  .20  per 
cent,  does  not  harm  and  probably  improves  irons  containing  silicon 
not  above  .15  per  cent,  and  carbon  not  above  .03  per  cent.  None  of 
the  ingredients,  except  carbon  in  the  proportions  present,  seem  to 
very  notably  affect  the  welding  by  ordinary  methods/'  Regarding 
this  last  clause  it  should  be  said  that  the  highest  sulphur  in  any 
sample  was  .015  per  cent.,  which  is  low;  but  copper  was  present  up 
to  .43  per  cent.;  nickel  up  to  .34  per  cent.,  and  cobalt  up  to  .11  per 
cent.  Moreover,  the  high  percentages  of  these  three  elements  were 
coincident  in  one  bar,  yet  welding  gave  fair  results,  notwithstanding 
that  phosphorus  was  higher  than  was  advisable.  The  experiments 
were  far  from  conclusive  as  to  these  elements. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

STEEL. 

A  true  definition  of  steel  must  apply  not  only  to  the  metals  com- 
monly designated  by  the  term,  but  to  all  compounds  which  ever 
have  been,  or  ever  will  be,  worthy  of  the  name,  including  the  special 
alloys  made  by  the  use  of  chromium,  tungsten,  nickel  and  other  ele- 
ments. Prior  to  the  development  of  the  Bessemer  and  open-hearth 
processes  there  was  little  room  for  disagreement  as  to  the  dividing 
line  between  steel  and  iron.  If  it  would  harden  in  water,  it  was 
steel;  if  not,  it  was  wrought-iron.  By  degrees  these  processes  wid- 
ened their  field,  and  finally  began  to  make  a  soft  metal  which 
possessed  many  of  the  characteristics  of  ordinary  wrought-iron. 
It  then  became  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  have  a  proper 
system  of  nomenclature,  since  the  filling  of  engineering  contracts 
and  the  interpretation  of  tariff  schedules  depended  upon  the  appli- 
cation of  the  one  term  or  the  other  to  the  soft  product  of  the  con- 
verter and  the  melting-furnace. 

At  this  juncture  an  international  committee  was  appointed,  with 
a  formidable  array  of  well-known  names:  Holley,  Bell,  Wedding,. 
Tunner,  Akerman,  Egleston  and  Gruner.  This  committee  reported 
in  October,  1876,  to  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,, 
the  following  resolution: 

(1)  That  all  malleable  compounds  of  iron  with  its  .ordinary 
ingredients,  which  are  aggregated  from  pasty  masses,  or  from  piles, 
or  from  any  forms  of  iron  not  in  a  fluid  state,  and  which  will  not 
sensibly  harden  and  temper,  and  which  generally  resemble  what  is 
called  "wrought-iron/'  shall  be  called  weld  iron. 

(2)  That  such  compounds,  when  they  will  from  any  cause  harden 
and  temper,  and  which  resemble  what  is  now  called  "puddled  steel," 
shall  be  called  weld  steel. 

(3)  That  all  compounds  of  iron  with  its  ordinary  ingredient? 
which  have  been  cast  from  a  fluid  state  into  malleable  masses,  and 

92 


STEEL.  93 

which  will  not  sensibly  harden  by  being  quenched  in  water  while 
at  a  red  heat,  shall  be  called  ingot  iron. 

(4)  That  all  such  compounds,  when  they  will  from  any  cause 
so  harden,  shall  be  called  ingot  steel. 

Needless  to  say,  these  definitions  have  long  since  been  forgotten, 
for  they  ignored  current  usage.  They  are  given  here  because  the 
terms  are  encountered  occasionally  in  books,  and  are  used  to  some 
extent  abroad.  Strictly  speaking,  some  mention  must  be  made  of 
hardening  in  a  complete  definition,  for  it  is  possible  to  make  steel 
in  a  puddling  furnace  by  taking  out  the  viscous  mass  before  it  has 
been  completely  decarburized ;  but  this  crude  method  is  a  relic  of 
the  past,  and  may  be  neglected  in  practical  discussion.  No  at- 
tempt will  be  made  to  give  an  ironclad  formula,  but  the  following 
statements  portray  the  current  usage  in  our  country : 

(1)  By  the  term  wrought-iron  is  meant  the  product  of  the 
puddle  furnace  or  the  sinking  fire. 

(2)  By  the  term  steel  is  meant  the  product  of  the  cementation 
process,  or  the  malleable  compounds  of  iron  made  in  the  crucible, 
the  converter,  or  the  open-hearth  furnace. 

This  nomenclature  is  not  founded  on  the  resolutions  of  com- 
mittees. It  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  business,  and  has  been 
made  mandatory  by  the  highest  of  all  statutes — the  law  of  common 
sense.  It  is  the  universal  system  among  engineers,  not  only  in 
America,  but  in  England  and  in  France.  In  other  lands  the  author- 
ity of  famous  names,  backed  by  conservatism  and  governmental 
prerogative,  has  fixed  for  the  present,  in  metallurgical  literature,  a 
list  of  terms  which  is  not  only  deficient,  but  fundamentally  false. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HIGH-CARBON  STEEL. 

SECTION"  Va. — Manufacture  of  cement  and  crucible  steel. — 
With  pure  ores  and  skillful  puddling,  it  is  passible  to  produce 
wrought-iron  in  which  the  phosphorus  does  not  exceed  .02  per  cent. 
This  pure  iron  may  be  converted  into  steel  by  placing  it  in  fine 
charcoal  and  exposing  it  to  a  yellow  heat.  By  a  slow  process,  called 
cementation,  the  carbon  penetrates  the  metal  at  the  rate  of  about 
one-eighth  inch  every  24  hours,  so  that  a  bar  five-eighths  of  an  inch 
thick  is  saturated  about  48  hours  after  it  arrives  at  a  proper  tem- 
perature. Many  tons  of  bars  are  treated  at  one  time,  and  some  arrive 
at  a  full  heat  much  sooner  than  others,  and  remain  longer  at  that 
temperature,  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  break  the  bars  after  treatment 
and  grade  them  by  fracture.  The  point  of  saturation  is  about  1.50 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  but  the  average  will  be  about  one  per  cent. 

The  steel  thus  produced  is  known  as  blister  or  cement  steel.  It 
contains  seams  and  pits  of  slag  which  were  in  the  wrought-iron,  and 
these  defects  are  of  fatal  moment  in  the  manufacture  of  edged  tools. 
To  avoid  this  trouble,  cement  steel  may  be  melted  in  crucibles,  out 
of  contact  with  the  air,  and,  being  thus  freed  from  the  intermingled 
slag,  can  be  cast  into  ingots.  This  double  process  is  expensive,  and 
a  more  common  method  is  to  put  charcoal  into  the  crucible  with  bar- 
iron,  the  absorption  of  carbon  progressing  with  rapidity  when  the 
metal  is  fluid.  This  practice  is  almost  universal  in  America,  and  it 
is  claimed  that  it  gives  a  steel  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  older 
method,  but  against  this  it  may  be  well  to  quote  the  following  dic- 
tum of  Seebohm,*  which  expresses  the  ancient  doctrines :  "The  best 
razor  steel  must  be  melted  from  evenly  converted  steel.  It  will  not 
do  to  mix  hard  and  soft  steel  together,  or  to  melt  it  from  pig  let 
down'  with  iron,  for  it  will  not  then  possess  the  requisite  amount  of 
body,  and  the  edge  of  the  razor  will  not  stand." 

*  On  the  Manufacture  of  Crucible  Cast-Steel.    Journal  I.  and  8. 1.,  Vol.  II.  1884,  p.  372. 

94 


HIGH-CARBON  STEEL.  95 

A  third  variation  is  the  melting  of  wrought-iron  with  a  proper 
proportion  of  pig  to  raise  the  carbon  to  the  desired  point,  while  in 
still  another,  used  in  Sweden,  the  charge  of  the  crucible  consists  of 
pig  and  iron  ore.  The  aim  of  all  methods  is  to  obtain  a  malleable 
metal  containing  from  .60  to  1.40  per  cent,  carbon,  and  free  from 
blowholes.  For  certain  purposes  some  special  element  like  chrom- 
ium, or  tungsten,  may  be  used  as  an  alloy,  but  with  this  exception 
even-  other  ingredient  may  be  regarded  as  an  impurity. 

SEC.  Yb. — Chemical  reactions  in  the  crucible. — The  best  tool 
steel  must  be  as  tough  as  possible,  and,  therefore,  the  phosphorus 
should  not  be  over  .02  per  cent.  Sulphur,  which  does  not  appreci- 
ably affect  brittleness,  but  does  decrease  forgeability,  is  not  so  im- 
portant, but  should  not  exceed  .04  per  cent.  Manganese  may  be  in 
larger  quantity,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  put  into  the  pot  a  mix- 
ture of  manganese  ore  and  carbon  so  that  metallic  manganese  may 
be  reduced.  If  the  percentage  does  not  exceed  .20  it  has  little  bad 
effect;  if  much  above  this,  it  will  cause  brittleness  and  liability  to 
crack  in  quenching. 

Just  after  the  steel  is  melted  there  is  more  or  less  action  in  the 
crucible.  In  addition  to  the  iron  and  charcoal  in  the  pot,  there  is 
a  small  amount  of  glass  or  similar  material  to  give  a  passive  slag; 
also  a  little  air,  some  slag  and  oxide  of  iron,  the  scale  and  rust  on 
the  surface  of  each  piece  of  metal,  and  silica,  alumina  and  carbon 
from  the  scorification  of  the  walls.  A  little  time  is  necessary  for 
the  various  reactions  to  occur  and  for  the  reduction  of  silicon  from 
the  slag  and  lining  in  accordance  with  the  following  equation : 

Si02+2C=Si+2CO. 

The  carbon  is  drawn  either  from  the  charcoal,  from  the  metal, 
or  from  the  crucible.  In  the  case  of  graphite  pots  the  supply  from 
the  latter  source  will  be  ample,  while  even  clay  pots  furnish  quite 
an  amount  from  the  coke  which  is  mixed  with  the  clay.  This  re- 
duction goes  on  until  the  steel  contains  from  .20  to  .40  per  cent,  of 
silicon  and  the  metal  lies  quiet  and  "dead,"  when  the  pot  is  taken 
from  the  furnace  and  the  contents  cast  into  ingot  form.  The  cruci- 
ble lasts  from  four  to  six  heats,  and  the  weight  of  a  melt  is  about 
80  pounds  when  the  crucible  is  new. 

SEC.    Vc. — Chemical    specifications    on   high    steel. — In    olden 


96 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


times  all  springs,  tools,  dies,  and  the  like  were  made  from  either 
cement  or  crucible  steel,  but  in  late  years  large  quantities  of  high- 
carbon  metal  have  been  produced  in  the  Bessemer  converter.  The 
manganese  in  Bessemer  steel  is  much  higher  than  in  crucible  metal, 
and  this  has  a  tendency  to  cause  cracks  in  quenching.  Formerly  a 
content  of  .75  to  1.10  per  cent,  was  not  uncommon,  but  the  demands 
of  the  trade  have  forced  an  improvement  in  this  respect.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  make  a  better  selection  of  the  stock  for  an  open-hearth  fur- 
nace and  produce  a  steel  low  in  manganese,  phosphorus,  and  sul- 
phur. The  relative  merits  of  open-hearth  and  crucible  steel  have 
been  vigorously  discussed,  but  oftentimes  a  comparison  is  made  be- 
tween a  pure  crucible  steel  and  an  impure  open-hearth  metal,  and 
the  conclusion  formulated  that  crucible  steel  is  much  superior.  No 
comparison  is  valid  unless  the  steels  are  of  the  same  composition,, 
and  in  this  latter  respect  it  will  not  do  to  accept  the  unproven  state- 
ments of  makers.  Table  V-A  gives  analyses  of  three  grades  of  steel, 
furnished  by  one  of  the  well-known  steel  manufacturers  of  the 
country. 

TABLE  V-A. 
Commercial  High  Steels  Not  According  to  Specifications. 


Nature  of  sample  as  marked  by 
maker. 

Composition;  percent. 

c 

P 

Mn 

Si 

8 

"  Crucible  " 

1.00 
.94 
.80 

.04 
.065 
.072 

.83 

.56 

.64 

r  .02 

r    .23 

.19 

.025 
.125 
.155 

"Pennsylvania  Railroad  spring"  . 
"Low  phosphorus  spring"  

The  carbon  content  is  right,  but  each  sample  shows  discrepancies- 
between  actual  composition  and  name.  Crucible  steel  may  contain 
as  much  as  .04  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  but  no  purchaser  expects 
that  amount,  and  when  this  is  considered  in  connection  with  the 
high  manganese,  and  the  absence  of  silicon,  the  natural  conclusion 
is  that  the  metal  ran  from  an  open-hearth  furnace.  The  second 
sample  was  supposed  to  fill  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  specifications 
for  springs  which  at  that  time  called  for  phosphorus  below  .05  per 
cent.,  manganese  below  .50  per  cent.,  and  sulphur  below  .05  per 
cent.,  but  a  glance  will  show  the  liberties  that  were  taken.  The 
"phosphorus"  spring  steel  contains  .072  per  cent,  of  that  element,, 
an  amount  slightly  under  the  average  of  common  rails. 


HIGH-CARBON  STEEL.  »« 

SEC.  Yd. — Manufacture  of  high  steel  in  an  open-hearth  fur- 
nace.— It  is  possible  to  make  open-hearth  steel  of  any  carbon  from 
.05  to  1.50  per  cent.,  with  phosphorus  below  .04  per  cent,  man- 
ganese below  .50  per  cent.,  and  sulphur  below  .04  per  cent  Dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  this  steel  has  come  into  general  use  and  all 
car  springs  and  similar  articles  are  of  open-hearth  steel.  It  is  used 
extensively  under  the  name  "cast  steel,"  a  term  which  is  both  a 
truth  and  a  lie :  the  truth  because  the  steel  is  cast;  a  lie  because  "cast 
steel"  is  a  trade  name  dating  back  a  century,  and  meaning  the 
product  of  the  crucible. 

There  are  one  or  two  points  about  this  material  which  should 
be  recognized  by  maker  and  user.  First,  there  is  less  opportunity 
to  get  a  "dead  melt"  in  the  furnace,  and  hence  there  is  more  liabil- 
ity of  blowholes  in  the  ingots  and  seams  in  the  bar.  For  making 


TABLE  V-B. 

Clippings  from  the  Top*  and  Bottom  of  Each  Ingot  of  a  High- 
Carbon  Heat. 


Number  1 
of  Ingot. 

Part  of  Ingot. 

Composition;  per  cent. 

Carbon 
by  Com- 
bustion. 

P 

Mn 

8 

81 

Cu 

1 

Top                   .      .  . 

1.009 
1.080 

.030 
.031 

.80 

j§ 

.027 
.026 

.14 

.is 

.10 
.10 

Bottom  

2 

Top 

1.046 
1.006 

.029 
.026 

.29 

.29 

.027 
.027 

.15 
.18 

.10 
.10 

Bottom  

8 

Top                .  . 

1.042 
0.938 

.031 
.030 

.29 
.30 

.028 
.029 

.11 
.14 

.10 
.10 

Bottom  

4 

Top 

1.090 
1.027 

.032 
.034 

.28 
.29 

.028 
.025 

.09 
.12 

.10 
.10 

Bottom 

5 

Top 

0.948 
1.089 

.035 
.036 

.82 

.29 

.026 
.027 

.17 
.10 

.10 

ao 

Bottom  

6 

Top                .  . 

1.065 
1.086 

.030 
.033 

.28 
.29 

.026 
.026 

.11 
.11 

.10 
.10 

Bottom  

7 

Top   

1.073 
1.043 

.030 
.028 

.29 
.30 

.025 
.028 

.11 
.15 

.09 
.10 

Bottom  

8 

Top   

0.982 
0.953 

.029 
.032 

.80 
.29 

.025 
.026 

.12 
.13 

.10 
.08 

Bottom  

9 
Test. 

Top   

1.044 
0.915 

.031 
.032 

.29 
.28 

.026 
.027 

.11 
.13 

.09 
.10 

Bottom   ... 

1.073 

.030 

.28 

.033 

.12 

.07 

*  The  piece  from  the  upper  bloom  was  from  a  point  one-quarter  way  from  the  top  of 
the  ingot,  and  near  the  point  of  maximum  segregation.  The  sample  was  the  clipping 
produced  in  cutting  a  billet  under  the  hammer. 


98 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


razors,  watch-springs  and  other  delicate  instruments,  no  expense  is 
too  great  in  avoiding  minute  defects,  but  when  these  imperfections 
are  few  and  not  of  vital  importance,  there  must  be  a  tendency  to 
economize  in  the  cost  of  the  raw  material.  Second,  a  heavy  heat  of 
open-hearth  steel  must  be  cast  in  masses  which  are  large  in  com- 
parison with  the  4-inch  ingot  of  the  crucible  works,  and  the 
chances  for  segregation  are  correspondingly  increased,  although 
Table  V-B  will  indicate  that  with  proper  precautions  there  is  little 
danger  of  trouble. 

Some  interesting  experiments  were  made  by  Wahlberg,  who  took 
tests  from  the  top  and  bottom  of  high-carbon  ingots  made  at  four 
well-known  works  in  Sweden.  He  found  a  difference  in  the  car- 
bon content  of  the  outer  skin  of  the  ingot  at  the  top  and  at  the 
bottom  amounting,  in  the  four  different  ingots,  to  the  following 
in  per  cent. : 

.13  .06  .09  .09 

The  differences  at  the  center  of  the  ingot  between  top  and  bottom 
were,  respectively.  .19,  .05,  .13  and  .09  per  cent.  Wahlberg  gives 
the  carbon  as  "branded"  on  the  bar.  It  may  be  well  to  compare 
this  with  the  results  obtained  by  the  chemists,  and  Table  V-C  gives 
this  information,  the  maximum  and  minimum  in  each  case  being 
obtained  from  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  same  ingot. 

TABLE  V-C. 
Variations  in  Swedish  Steel. 


Carbon  per  cent. 

Brand. 

Maximum. 

Minimum. 

50 

46 

49 

50 

53 

61 

50 

49 

55 

62 

59 

69 

90 

88 

106 

100 

88 

105 

110 

107 

119 

124 

114 

131 

In  the  Steelton  steels,  the  variations  in  phosphorus,  sulphur, 
manganese  and  copper  are  trifling,  while  those  of  silicon  are  un- 
important. In  carbon  the  difference  between  extremes  is  16  points, 


HIGH-CAKBON  STEEL. 


99 


and  while  this  may  seem  to  be  a  great  variation  in  one  charge,  the 
variations  in  each  separate  ingot  were  less  than  in  the  Swedish 
steel.  The  average  variation  between  the  top  and  bottom  of  a 
Steelton  ingot  was  .07  per  cent.  A  true  comparison  is  not  between 
one  ingot  of  crucible  steel  and  a  heat  of  open-hearth  metal.  The 
question  is  whether  the  irregularities  are  greater  in  ten  tons  of 
crucible  steel  than  in  ten  tons  of  open-hearth.  Much  depends  upon 
the  care  with  which  the  stock  is  selected,  but  Table  V-D  gives  anal- 
yses of  different  bars  of  one  lot  of  crucible  steel,  sold  under  one 
mark  and  of  uniform  size  by  one  of  the  leading  firms  in  the  United 
States;  it  will  be  evident  that  uniformity  can,  by  no  means,  be 
assumed. 

TABLE  V-D. 

Variations  in  One  Lot  of  Crucible  Steel. 


«s 

«H 

o 

0 

fc 

Composition,  per  cent. 

Carbon 
by  color. 

P 

Mn 

3 

1 

2 
3 
4 

.85 
.85 
1.05 
.96 
.90 

.013 
.011 
.010 
.013 
und. 

.20 
.20 
.17 
.21 
.28 

018 
014 
010 
.012 
.010 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  ACID  BESSEMER   PROCESS. 

SECTION  Via. — Construction  of  a  converter. — The  acid  Bessemer 
process  consists  in  blowing  air  into  liquid  pig-iron  for  the  purpose 
of  burning  most  of  the  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon  of  the  metal, 
the  operation  being  conducted  in  an  acid-lined  vessel,  and  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  product  is  entirely  fluid. 

The  way  the  air  is  introduced  is  of  little  importance.  In  the 
earlier  days  there  were  many  forms  of  apparatus,  the  air  being 
blown  sometimes  from  the  side  and  sometimes  from  the  top,  while 
the  tuyeres  were  plunged  beneath  the  surface  or  raised  above  it. 
These  forms  have  given  way  in  large  plants  to  the  method  *of  blow- 
ing the  air  upward  through  the  metal,  trusting  to  the  pressure  of 
the  blast  to  keep  the  liquid  from  running  into  the  holes  in  the  bot- 
tom, but  where  converters  are  used  for  making  steel  castings  the 
method  of  side  blowing  is  employed,  for  with  intermittent  work 
and  where  there  is  difficulty  in  getting  the  metal  hot,  the  blast  over 
the  surface  is  an  advantage.  The  converters  vary  in  size,  in  excep- 
tional cases  holding  less  than  one  thousand  pounds,  but  the  com- 
mon size  for  what  are  known  as  "small"  plants  treats  five  tons  at 
a  time,  while  in  the  "large"  plants  the  capacity  is  from  ten  to 
twenty  tons. 

In  Fig.  VI- A  are  given  drawings  of  the  18-ton  vessels  in  use  at 
the  works  of  the  Maryland  Steel  Company,  at  Sparrow's  Point, 
Md.  The  converters  are  rotated  on  a  central  axis  by  means  of  a 
rack  and  pinion,  to  allow  the  turning  down  of  the  vessel  as  soon  as 
the  charge  is  decarburized,  so  that  the  metal  may  lie  quietly  in  the 
belly,  the  tuyeres  being  above  the  metal.  In  this  way  the  blast  can 
be  stopped  without  filling  the  tuyeres  with  molten  metal.  If  bot- 
tom blast  be  used  with  a  stationary  vessel,  the  blast  must  be  con- 
tinued during  the  time  required  to  open  the  tap-hole  and  drain  out 
the  metal,  so  that  the  results  will  be  more  irregular  than  with  g 

100 


THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PEOCE3S.:,.  ;  '/ 


FIG.  VI-A. — BESSEMER  CONVERTER  IN  UPRIGHT  POSITION 


FIG.  VI-A. — BESSEMER  CONVERTER  WHEN  TURNED  DOWN,  SHOW 
ING  BATH  OF  METAL. 


J  ¥\  'I  ^  vMETA^LURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


rotary  form.  This  fault  may  be  partly  overcome  by  having  the  blast 
introduced  from  the  upper  surface,  but  the  waste  of  iron  is  greater, 
and  the  extra  expense  wipes  away  all  advantages  of  a  reduced  cost 
of  installation. 

TABLE  VI-A. 
Chemical  History  of  an  Acid  Bessemer  Charge. 

Illinois  Steel  Company,  South  Chicago,  111.,  August  13,  1890,  F.  Julian. 

Barometer,  29.79  inches;  temperature,  36°  C.  (96.8°  F.) ;  blast  pressure,  27  pounds.    No 

allowance  for  leakage  and  clearance.     Weight  of  pig,  22,500  pounds. 


Subject. 

3$ 

Time  of 

Blowing. 

«  nJ 

33 

2m.  Os. 

3m.  20s. 

6m.  3s. 

8m.  8s. 

9m.    10s. 

After 
Spiegel. 

2  gg 

2  94 

2  71 

1  72 

0  53 

0  04 

0  45 

0  94 

0  63 

0  33 

0  03 

0.03 

0  02 

0  038 

Manganese  

0.43 

0.09 

0.04 

0.03 

0.01 

0.01 

1.15 

Phosphorus    .             

10 

0.104 

0  106 

0  106 

0.107 

0.108 

0.109 

06 

0  06 

0  06 

0  06 

0  06 

0  06 

0  059 

Silica  

42.40 

50.26 

62  54 

63.56 

62.20 

Alumina 

5  63 

5  13 

4  06 

3.01 

2  76 

40  29 

34  24 

21  26 

21  39 

17  44 

Ferric  oxide                  .  . 

4.31 

0.96 

1  93 

2.63 

2.90 

6  54 

7  90 

8  79 

8  88 

13  72 

1  22 

0  91 

0  88 

0  90 

0  87 

Magnesia 

0  36 

0  34 

0  34 

0.36 

0.29 

0  008 

0  008 

0  010 

0  014 

0  010 

Sulphur  

0  009 

0  009 

0.014 

0.008 

0.011 

m'der'te 

full 

Flame 

Silicon 

bright- 

carbon 

carbon 

flame 

flame. 

ening. 

flame. 

flame. 

drops. 

Cubic  feet  of  air 

34502 

36028 

53481 

45365 

26430 

The  lining  is  of  stone,  brick,  or  other  refractory  material  and  is 
about  one  foot  thick.  The  bottom  is  either  of  brick  or  rammed 
plastic  material,  the  tuyeres  being  of  brick,  from  20  to  26  inches 
in  length,  with  holes  from  three-eighths  to  one-half  inch  in  diameter. 
The  total  tuyere  area  varies  at  different  works  from  2.0  to  2.5 
square  inches  per  ton  of  charge.  The  blast  pressure  may  be  30 
pounds  per  square  inch  during  the  first  period  of  the  blow,  but 
there  has  been  a  tendency  toward  greater  tuyere  area  and  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  pressure  to  about  20  pounds  or  less.  In  a  very  hot 
charge,  or  if  Jhe  slag  is  sloppy,  the  pressure  must  sometimes  be 
reduced  to  10  pounds  after  the  flame  "breaks  through"  (i.e.,  after 
the  carbon  begins  to  burn),  to  prevent  the  expulsion  of  metal  from 
the  nose.  The  blowing  engine  and  the  tuyere  openings  being  pro- 
portionate to  the  work  in  hand,  the  heats,  whether  heavy  or  light, 
are  usually  blown  in  from  7  to  12  minutes. 

SEC.  VIb. — Chemical  history  of  a  charge. — The  chemical  history 
of  a  charge  was  investigated  by  F.  Julian,  of  the  Illinois  Steel  Com- 
pany, and  his  results  are  given  in  Table  VI-A,  which  is  copied 


THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS.  103 

from  a  paper  by  Prof.  Howe.*  The  results  on  the  slags  are  not 
accurate,  for  it  is  impossible  to  take  a  true  sample  of  converter 
slag,  on  account  of  its  viscosity.  An  attempt  to  work  out  the  weight 
of  the  cinder  at  different  periods  of  the  blow  showed  that  there 
were  considerable  discrepancies;  the  combustion  of  the  metalloids 
is  not  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  air  given  as  entering  the  ves- 
sel, while  the  total  oxygen  in  the  recorded  volume  of  air  is  twice 
the  amount  needed  for  the  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon.  Not- 
withstanding these  errors,  the  table  represents  the  chemical  oper- 
ations in  the  vessel.  The  presence  of  phosphorus  in  the  slag  is 
attributed  by  Prof.  Howe  to  shot  mechanically  held.  This  is 
hardly  the  whole  story,  for  I  have  found  that  acid  open-hearth  slag 
with  50  per  cent.  Si02  may  carry  0.04  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  and 
this  must  arise,  in  part  at  least,  from  an  absorption  of  phosphorus 
by  oxide  of  iron.  The  failure  of  the  silica  to  break  up  the  phos- 
phate of  iron  may  be  explained  by  the  persistence  with  which  traces 
of  elements  refuse  to  be  eliminated  under  conditions  which  suffice 
for  the  removal  of  all  but  an  inconsiderable  proportion.  I  have 
elsewheret  dwelt  upon  this  fact. 

SEC.  Vic. — Variations  due  to  different  contents  of  silicon. — With 
a  low  initial  heat,  the  elimination  of  silicon  is  almost  complete 
before  the  carbon  is  seriously  affected,  but  there  is  a  critical  tem- 
perature where  the  relative  affinities  of  silicon  and  carbon  for  oxy- 
gen are  reversed,  and,  when  this  is  attained,  no  matter  at  what 
stage  of  the  operation,  the  silicon  immediately  ceases  to  have  prefer- 
ence, and  the  carbon  seizes  the  entire  supply  of  oxygen.  This  con- 
tinues until  the  carbon  is  reduced  to  about  .03  per  cent.  If  the 
metal  has  contained  silicon  during  the  burning  of  carbon,  owing  to 
an  excessively  high  temperature,  the  blowing  may  be  kept  up  after 
the  drop  of  the  carbon  flame  and  the  silicon  will  be  oxidized  in 
preference  to  iron,  but  in  ordinary  practice  silicon  is  eliminated 
early  in  the  operation,  for  scrap  is  added  to  the  charge  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  utilize  the  excess  of  heat.  The  same  cooling  effect  may 
be  attained  by  the  injection  of  steam  into  the  air  supply. 

It  has  been  the  practice  at  many  foreign  works  to  have  the  pig- 
iron  at  a  high  temperature  in  the  manufacture  of  rail  steel,  and 
blow  <fhof '  to  produce  a  decarburized  metal  containing  silicon.  The 

*  Notes  on  the  Bessemer  Process.    Journal  I.  and  S.  L,  Vol.  n,  1890,  p.  102. 
t  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  £.,  Vol.  XXTT,  p.  462. 


1U4 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


steel  is  cooled  to  a  proper  casting  temperature  by  the  addition  of 
scrap  in  the  ladle,  and  large  quantities  of  rails  and  other  products 
have  been  thus  made  with  from  0.3  to  0.6  per  cent,  of  silicon.  Some 
pig-iron,  notably  in  German)^  and  Sweden,  contains  a  considerable 
proportion  of  manganese;  this  burns,  in  some  measure,  at  the  same 
time  as  the  silicon;  but  when  the  manganese  is  present  in  large 
quantity,  the  carbon  has  preference.  In  Sweden  this  fact  is  made 
use  of  in  the  manufacture  of  tool  steels,  the  operation  being  stopped 
when  the  bath  is  high  in  carbon,  the  metal  still  containing  a  suf- 
ficient proportion  of  manganese  to  insure  good  working. 

SEC.  VId. — Swedish  practice. — The  Swedish  practice  has  been 
discussed  by  Akerman,*  and  many  of  the  following  statements  are 
founded  on  his  authority.  The  pig-iron  contains  not  much  over 
1.0  per  cent,  of  silicon  to  insure  that  the  product  shall  be  free  from 
this  metalloid,  even  if  the  blow  be  interrupted  when  high  in  carbon. 
The  charge  is  taken  in  a  molten  state  from  the  blast  furnace  to  the 
converter,  a  practice  which  has  been  in  general  use  in  Sweden  since 
1857.  The  slow  working  and  small  charges  which  characterize  the 


TABLE  VI-B. 
Manganiferous  Bessemer  Pig-irons. 


Name  of 
Works. 

Sample. 

Time  to 
begin- 
ning  or 
boll. 

Time  of 
blowing 
when 
samples 
were 
taken. 

Composition  of 
Metal;  percent. 

Composition  of  Slag; 
per  cent. 

C 

81 

Mn 

S10a 

FeO 

MnO 

A1203 

Langhyt- 
tan. 

Pig-Iron. 
Bess,  bath 
«          « 
«          « 

8.94 
4.20 
1.10 
.05 

1.14 
.04 
.03 
.01 

.64 
.12 
.12 
.06 

2m.  45s. 

2m.  15s. 
4m.  80s. 
5m.  80s. 

48.76 
59.82 
48.48 

84.72 
21.08 
85.82 

13.95 

15.48 
12.29 

.78 
.93 
.72 

Ny- 

kroppa. 

Pig-iron. 
Bess,  bath 
«          «< 
«          « 

4.85 
4.10 
1.00 
.08 

.88 
.10 
.05 
.04 

1.15 
.15 
.15 
.08 

1m.  80s. 

2m.  80s. 
5m.  80s. 
6m.  80s. 

58.26 
62.84 
44.52 

18.50 
9.54 
80.60 

29.76 
28.70 
21.89 

2.28 
8.90 
2.14 

Westanf- 

ors. 

Pig-iron. 
Bess,  bath 
«          u 

«             a 

4.22 
4.20 
1.80 
.55 

1.06 
.48 
.12 
.07 

5.12 
8.26 
.85 
.48 

2m.  80s. 

4m.  15s. 
8m.  85s. 
9m.  20s. 

45.87 
39.07 
37.63 

4.20 
6.24 
9.45 

46.88 
52.26 
48.92 

8.08 
2.49 
2.94 

Bessemer  practice  of  Sweden  render  necessary  a  hot-blowing  metal, 
and  since  the  silicon  cannot  be  high  without  danger  of  leaving  some 
in  the  product,  it  is  customary  to  have  from  1.5  to  4.0  per  cent,  of 


*  Bessemer  Process  as  Conducted  in  Sweden.    Trans.  A.I.M.  £.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  265. 


THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS. 


105 


manganese  in  the  pig.     Table  VI-B  gives  analyses  of  metals  and 
slags  at  different  periods  of  the  operation. 

It  will  be  seen  that  when  manganese  is  present  in  large  propor- 
tion, quite  an  amount  is  left  in  the  steel  after  the  boil  has  begun 
and  even  after  most  of  the  carbon  has  been  eliminated.  This  will 
be  illustrated  by  Table  VI-C. 

TABLE  VI-C. 

Steel  from  High-Manganese  Pig-iron. 
Pig-Iron  with  4  per  cent  Mn  and  1  per  cent  Si. 


Element. 

Composition,  per  cent.,  of  various  heats. 

C  .  .  .  . 

Mn  .  .  . 
Si  .... 

1.3 

0.6 

0.06 

1.1 

0.66 
0.05 

0.9 
0.5 

0.045 

0.7 
0.4 

0.045 

0.5 
0.3 

0.04 

0.3 
0.2 
0.03 

0.2 
0.15 
0.02 

0.15 
0.12 
0.016 

Pig-iron  with  5  to  «  per  cent.  Mn  and 
1  per  cent.  Si. 


Element. 

Composition,  per  cent.,  of 
various  heats.  ' 

C  .  .  .  . 
Mn  .  .  . 
Si  .... 

1.3 
1.25 
0.25 

1.1 

1.05 
0.2 

0.9 
0.9 
0.15 

0.7 

0.7 
0.12 

0.6 
0.6 
0.1 

SEC.  Vie. — History  of  the  slag. — Akerman  discusses  the  part 
which  the  slag  plays  in  the  oxidation  of  the  metalloids,  but  I  have 
ventured  to  disagree  with  him  on  this  point.*  In  the  open-hearth 
process,  the  history  of  the  slag  is  the  history  of  the  operation,  for 
all  the  changes  in  the  composition  of  the  metal  must  be  done 
through  the  mediation  of  the  slag,  but  in  the  Bessemer  the  blast 
enters  from  the  bottom  and  passes  upward  through  the  metal  be- 
fore it  ever  comes  in  contact  with  the  slag.  It  is  true  that  the 
charge  is  in  a  state  of  violent  ebullition  and  that  the  slag  is  carried 
down  into  the  metal,  but  such  a  mixing  does  not  seem  to  be  a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  operation,  for,  when  the  heat  is  first  turned  up, 
the  silicon  is  immediately  oxidized,  although  no  slag  is  present.  In 
short,  the  question  resolves  itself  into  a  reductio  ad  absurdum,  for 
it  is  the  oxidation  of  the  silicon  which  creates  the  slag,  and  hence 
the  slag  can  hardly  be  necessary  for  the  oxidation  of  silicon.  The 
slag  does  automatically  adjust  its  own  composition,  and  will  do  so 


*  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  667. 


106 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


even  after  the  addition  of  large  quantities  of  iron  oxide,  but  with 
much  less  precision  than  in  the  open-hearth  furnace. 

In  America,  little  attention  has  been  paid  in  the  past  to  the  com- 
position of  the  slag,  as  the  proportion  of  manganese  in  the  iron 
has  usually  been  below  0.50  per  cent,  and  the  slag  was  thick  and 
viscous.  Within  recent  years  the  increased  use  of  Mesabi  ores  has 
given  a  pig-iron  carrying  often  0.60  per  cent,  and  sometimes  over 
1.00  per  cent,  of  manganese.  Such  an  iron  causes  much  slopping 
during  the  blow,  and  gives  a  thin  slag  that  makes  it  more  difficult 
to  properly  recarburize  the  metal.  Table  VI-D  gives  the  composi- 
tion of  slags  from  eight  different  Bessemer  plants  in  America. 
Sample  I  was  made  from  irons  containing  from  2  to  3  per  cent,  in 
silicon,  while  K  was  from  irons  running  over  1  per  cent,  in  man- 
ganese. 

TABLE  VI-D. 

Composition  of  American  Bessemer  Slags. 


.     SiOa 

FeO 

MnO 

A 

55.5 

12.7 

26.9 

B 

52.8 

18  1 

24.6 

C 

64.9 

1  .7 

9.6 

D 

65.8 

18.5 

11.7 

E 

62.0 

16.9 

12.1 

F 

59.7 

19.3 

12.0 

G 

62.2 

20.3 

13.7 

H 

55.5 

23.0 

18.0 

I 

69.5 

15.3 

9.4 

K 

47.0 

10.1 

35.5 

The  composition  of  the  slag  is  sometimes  changed  by  blowing 
with  the  vessel  partly  tipped  over.  This  brings  some  of  the  tuyeres 
above  the  metal,  so  that  the  blast  rushes  over  the  surface,  oxidizing 
considerable  iron,  and  burning  part  of  the  CO  to  C02,  so  that 
there  is  a  greater  calorific  development,  and  this  method  is  taken  to 
raise  the  temperature  of  a  cold  charge  at  the  expense  of  a  greater 
waste  of  iron,  and  a  greater  wear  of  the  lining.  Cold  charges  may 
arise  from  too  low  a  content  of  silicon,  from  a  low  initial  tem- 
perature, or  from  a  newly  repaired  vessel.  It  is  unusual  in  rapid 
American  practice  to  have  difficulty  from  insufficient  heat,  for  the 
fastest  plants  will  average  eight  heats  per  hour  from  a  pair  of 
10-ton  vessels,  giving  an  output  of  50,000  tons  per  month.  Under 
these  conditions  one  per  cent,  of  silicon  in  the  pig-iron  is  sufficient 
for  the  production  of  the  necessary  heat. 


THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS.  107 

SEC.  Vlf. — Loss  in  blowing. — When  a  Bessemer  plant  runs  on 
cupola  iron,  the  loss  is  usually  10  or  even  11  per  cent.  With  di- 
rect metal  the  loss  is  nearly  10  per  cent.,  but  in  some  places  is 
stated  to  be  as  low  as  8  per  cent.  Theoretically,  there  should  be 
little  difference  in  the  loss  between  direct  and  cupola  metal,  for 
although  silicon  and  manganese  are  lost  in  the  cupola,  these  ele- 
ments would  be  burned  later  in  the  converter  at  any  rate,  but  by 
using  direct  iron  it  is  possible  to  work  with  a  lower  content  of  sili- 
con in  the  pig  and  thus  reduce  the  loss.  Assuming  the  minimum 
of  8  per  cent.,  and  assuming  that  the  carbon,  silicon  and  man- 
ganese do  not  amount  to  more  than  5  per  cent.,  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  3  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron  to  be  accounted  for.  Part  of 
the  metal  enters  the  slag  as  shot,  a  separation  by  the  magnet  giving 
an  average  content  of  from  6  to  8  per  cent.,  indicating  a  loss  of 
about  three-quarters  of  1  per  cent,  of  the  total  output,  and  this 
portion  is  a  complete  loss,  as  far  as  both  product  and  heat  are 
concerned.  The  large  pieces  of  scrap  in  the  vessel  slag  may  be 
picked  out  by  hand,  and,  as  these  are  generally  returned  to  the 
cupolas  without  reweighing,  they  are  not  reckoned  in  the  percent- 
age of  loss.  The  smaller  particles  can  only  be  recovered  by  the 
rather  expensive  process  of  crushing  the  slag  and  passing  it  over  a 
magnetic  separator. 

Another  portion  of  iron  is  chemically  combined  with  the  silica 
in  the  slag.  Experiments  at  Steelton  on  a  week's  run  gave  120 
tons  of  vessel  slag  for  every  1000  tons  of  pig-iron.  This  slag,  after 
being  cleaned  with  a  magnet,  averaged  15  per  cent,  of  iron,  repre- 
senting a  loss  of  1.80  per  cent,  of  the  metal,  but  the  pig-iron  con- 
tained 1.75  per  cent,  of  silicon,  which  is  higher  than  necessary. 
With  a  content  of  1.00  per  cent.,  the  weight  of  slag  would  have 
been  less,  but  as  the  bottom  and  lining  will  wear  about  the  same, 
the  decrease  in  weight  of  slag  with  a  decrease  in  silicon  is  not  pro- 
portional. Adding  together  0.75  per  cent,  of  metal  as  shot  and  1.8 
per  cent,  as  combined  in  the  slag  gives  2.55  per  cent,  against  3 
per  cent,  lost,  indicating  that  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  is  ejected 
from  the  nose  in  the  form  of  dust  and  splashes.  Some  of  the  fine 
spray  is  oxidized  outside  the  converter,  but  some  is  burned  before 
it  passes  the  nose ;  including  what  actually  combines  with  the  slag, 
about  two  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron  is  burned  inside  the  vessel. 
This  figure  will  be  used  in  determining  the  heat  evolved. 


108  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

SEC.  VIg. — Calorific  history  of  the  acid  Bessemer  converter. — 
Table  VI-E  gives  a  calculation  on  the  calorific  history  of  an  acid 
converter.  Given  a  bath  of  pig-iron  at  1400°  C.  and  air  at  100°  &, 
and  the  amount  of  heat  required  to  heat  the  air  to  the  temperature 
of  the  bath  being  allowed  for,  then  the  heat  evolved  by  the  union 
of  the  oxygen  with  the  bath  must  be  absorbed  by  the  products  of 
the  oxidation.  These  products  are  steel,  slag,  oxides  of  carbon  and 
nitrogen.  The  steel  and  slag  will  be  raised  to  the  final  tempera- 
ture of  the  bath ;  the  gases  will  escape  continuously,  and,  therefore, 
be  heated  to  the  average  temperature  in  the  case  of  nitrogen,  or  to- 
on assumed  three-quarters  of  the  total  rise  in  the  case  of  oxides 
of  carbon  which  come  off  during  the  latter  half  of  the  blow.  The 
heat  absorbed  by  the  lining  is  approximated  by  assuming  that  a 
thickness  of  one  centimeter  (0.4  inch)  participates  in  the  increase 
of  temperature.  No  estimate  is  made  of  heat  lost  by  radiation. 

The  surplus  heat,  after  allowing  for  heating  the  air,  will  be  util- 
ized in  heating  the  steel,  slag,  gases  and  lining,  while  some  is  lost 
by  radiation.  The  total  surplus  heat  divided  by  the  calorific  capac- 
ity of  the  products  at  the  average  temperature  of  the  bath  (i.e., 
the  heat  required  to  raise  their  temperature  1°  C.)  will  give  the 
theoretical  rise  in  temperature.  The  surplus  heat  credited  to  iron 
and  carbon  does  not  express  their  relative  value,  because  the  bath 
is  relatively  cold  while  silicon  is  being  burned  and  comparatively 
hot  while  carbon  is  oxidizing,  but  the  values  used  are  theoreti- 
cally accurate  for  calculating  the  rise  in  temperature.  The  end 
temperature  is  1400+329=1729°  C.,  omitting  the  loss  due  to  ra- 
diation. This  check  on  the  rise  in  temperature  will  not  exceed 
50°  C.,  which  would  leave  the  end  temperature  about  1679°  C.  and 
the  actual  rise  about  279°  C. 

SEC.  Vlh. — Direct  metal. — It  has  been  the  custom  in  Sweden  to 
use  the  pig-iron  melted  from  the  blast  furnace,  while  in  other  coun- 
tries it  was  found,  during  the  early  history  of  the  art,  that  it  was 
better  to  remelt  in  cupolas.  The  success  of  the  Swedish  metallur- 
gists arose  partly  from  the  necessity  of  saving  fuel  in  a  country  where 
coal  was  not  found,  and  partly  from  the  favorable  character  of  the 
native  pig-iron,  which,  being  made  from  charcoal,  never  contained 
high  silicon,  and  was  low  in  both  sulphur  and  phosphorus.  More- 
over, a  large  proportion  of  the  Swedish  product  is  a  hard  steel,  the 
blc  w  being  interrupted  when  the  metal  is  high  in  carbon,  and  a 


TILE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS.  109 

lower  content  of  silicon  is  practicable.     The  manufacture  of  fhis 
hard  steel  is  made  feasible  by  the  low  phosphorus  and  low  sulphur 

TABLE  VI-E. 
Calorific  History  of  the  Acid  Converter. 

Data  :     1000  kg.  pig-iron ;  Si=1.00  per  cent. ;  C=3.50  per  cent. 
Initial  temperature— 1400  C.     Average  temperature  about  1600°  C. 
Loss=8  per  cent.     Metallic  iron  burned=2  per  cent 
Specific  heat  at  1600°  C.,  per  cubic  metre  CO  and  N=0.40 ;  CO*=1.34. 
Specific  heat  at  1600°  C.,  per  kilo  liquid  steel  0.21,  liquid  slag  0.25,  lining  0.25 ; 
per  kilo  CO  and  N=0.32,  CO2=0.68. 

Specific  heat  of  air  100°  C.  to  1400°  C.,  per  cubic  metre=0.346 ;  per  kg.=0.268. 

NET    HEAT   DEVELOPMENT. 

Combustion  of  Silicon —  Calories.         Surplus. 

10  kg.   SH-11.4  kg.   O=21.4   kg.    SiO2=64,140 
11.4  kg.  O=49.6  kg.  air,  absorbing 

49.6X0.268X1300  =17,280  46,860 

Combustion  of  Iron — 

20  kg.   Fe+5.7   kg.   O=25.7   kg.    FeO=23,460 
5.7  kg.  O=24.8  kg.  air,  absorbing 

24.8X0.268X1300  —    8640  14,820 

Combustion  of  Carbon — 

7   kg.   C+18.7   kg.    0=25.7   kg.    CO*=56,930 
28   kg.    C+37.3    kg.    O=65.3  kg.    CO=68,600 


125,530 
66  kg.  O=243.5  kg.  air,  absorbing 

243.5X0.268X1300  =84,830  40,700 


Total  surplus  heat  developed 102,380 

CALORIFIC  CAPACITY  OF  THE  PRODUCTSL 

WeightXSp.  heat  at  1600  degrees. 

920  kg.liquid  steelX0.21  =193.2 

150  kg.  liquid  slagX0.25  =  37.5 

50  kg.  lining          X0.25  =  12.5 

25.7  kg.  CO,  X0.68X3/4  =  13.1 

65.3  kg.  CO  X0.32X3/4  =  15.7 

244.8  kg.  N  X0.32X1/2  =  39.2 

Total  capacity  per  1°  C.         =311.2 

Theoretical  rise  of  temperature=  1-^||??=329*  C. 

311.2 

in  Swedish  irons,  and  although  interrupting  the  blow  gives  irregu- 
lar results  the  steel  can  be  graded  after  it  is  made.  The  failure  of 
the  direct  metal  process  in  other  countries  arose  from  irregular 
blast-furnace  work.  By  allowing  the  iron  to  become  cold  and  mix- 
ing the  different  qualities,  it  was  possible  to  get  a  more  regular 
metal.  Direct  metal  is  practicable  to-day  mainly  because  of  irn- 


110  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

proved  furnace  practice,  while  difficulties  are  also  avoided  by  hav- 
ing a  large  receiver,  often  called  a  mixer,  into  which  is  poured  the 
melted  iron  from  all  tributary  furnaces,  and  in  which  a  mixing  or 
averaging  takes  place.  This  receiver  is  an  enlargement  of  the  old 
American  receiving  ladle. 

SEC.  Vli. — Cupola  metal. — The  cupolas  used  in  steel  works  meas- 
ure from  6  to  8  feet  internal  diameter,  while  the  height  should  be 
at  least  20  feet.  The  fuel  consumption  varies,  one  pound  of  coke 
melting  from  11  to  15  pounds  of  iron.  The  coke  must  be  as  free 
as  possible  from  sulphur,  as  the  iron,  during  melting,  absorbs  this 
element.  With  fast  running  and  good  coke,  this  absorption  may  be 
only  .02  per  cent. ;  with  slow  running  and  bad  coke,  the  sulphur  in 
the  iron  may  be  raised  .20  per  cent,  in  the  cupola.  About  half  of 
one  per  cent,  of  silicon  and  some  manganese  are  oxidized  during 
melting  and  also  some  metallic  iron.  This  loss  of  iron  can  be 
found  only  by  weighing  and  analyzing  the  cinder  running  from 
the  tap-hole.  An  experiment  of  this  kind  on  a  24-hour  run,  melt- 
ing 400  tons  of  iron,  showed  a  slag  containing  8.77  per  cent,  of 
metallic  iron,  and  a  loss  of  iron  representing  0.42  per  cent,  of  the 
pig-iron  charged.  Other  determinations  showed  a  less  percentage 
of  iron  in  the  slag. 

SEC.  VI j. — Factors  affecting  the  calorific  hist ory .—Until  within 
a  few  years,  it  was  thought  necessary  to  have  from  2.0  to  2.5  per 
cent,  of  silicon  in  the  metal  as  it  entered  the  converter,  but  the 
general  practice  at  the  present  time  is  to  have  from  1.0  to  1.5  per 
cent.,  although  it  is  feasible  to  operate  with  a  content  of  from  0.6 
to  0.8  per  cent.  This  reduction  of  calorific  power  has  been  made 
practicable  by  several  small  improvements : 

(1)  Fast  running,  the  iron  never  standing  long  enough  to  cool, 
and  the  steel  ladles  and  vessels  always  being  hot. 

(2)  Quick  blowing,  the  radiation   from  the  vessel  being  de- 
creased, and  the  time  lessened  during  which  the  idle  vessel  is  cool- 
ing. 

(3)  Good  bottoms  and  linings,  the  scorified  material  being  re- 
duced, and  delays  for  repairs  avoided. 

(4)  Quick  changes  of  bottoms,  and  less  cooling  of  the  vessels. 

(5)  Blowing  with  the  vessel  partly  tipped  over  when  the  charge 
is  cool,  rendering  less  necessary  an  excess  of  heat-producing  ele- 
ments as  a  provision  against  delays  or  change  of  bottoms. 


THE  ACID  BESSEMER  PROCESS.  Ill 

Ehrenwerth*  argues  that  pig-iron  low  in  silicon  should  give  bet- 
ter steel,  for,  with  high  silicon,  there  is  a  greater  proportion  of 
free  oxygen  in  the  gases  during  the  first  stages  of  the  blow.  The 
percentage  of  carbon  is  nearly  constant  in  all  irons,  and,  with  an 
increase  in  silicon,  there  is  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  pro- 
portion which  the  silicon  bears  to  carbon.  Granting  that  the  pres- 
ence of  free  oxygen  in  the  gases  escaping  from  the  vessel  during  the 
first  part  of  the  process  is  due  to  the  proportionately  greater  quan- 
tity of  silicon  as  compared  with  carbon,  then  if  the  metal  at  the 
end  of  the  operation  should  contain  a  high  proportion  of  silicon 
as  compared  with  its  content  of  carbon,  the  escaping  gases  would 
contain  free  oxygen.  This  proportionately  high  silicon  at  the  end 
of  the  operation  is  found  in  heats  which  contained  a  high  initial 
percentage  of  silicon  in  the  iron,  and  hence  such  heats  would  be  ex- 
pected to  have  free  oxygen  in  the  bases  which  are  formed  at  the 
close  of  the  operation,  and  this  free  oxygen  will  signify  a  more 
liighly  oxidized  condition  of  the  metal. 

Notwithstanding  that  tipping  the  converter  has  rendered  unnec- 
essary as  large  a  margin  of  calorific  power  as  was  formerly  necessary, 
it  is  advantageous  to  have  a  slight  excess  of  silicon  to  allow  for  de- 
lays and  new  bottoms,  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  lower  the  temperature 
of  normal  charges  by  the  addition  of  steel  scrap  or  solid  pig-iron.  The 
skill  attained  in  estimating  the  temperature  of  melted  steel  seems 
almost  incredible  to  the  lay  mind,  for  it  is  possible  to  detect  the 
difference  caused  by  a  variation  of  100  pounds  in  the  amount  of 
scrap  added  to  a  7-ton  charge  in  the  converter,  and  I  have  else- 
wheret  tried  to  show  that  this  represents  a  difference  of  only  13°  C. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  all  heats  are  not  regulated  to  such 
exact  measure,  but  a  variation  of  three  or  four  times  this  amount 
is  more  than  is  expected  in  current  American  practice.  This  accu- 
racy can  only  be  obtained  by  uninterrupted  work,  so  that  we  find 
that  the  best  "scrapping"  follows  the  fastest  running.  This  fact  is 
an  answer  to  the  criticism  of  foreign  metallurgists  that  the  large 
outputs  of  American  Bessemer  plants  have  been  made  at  the  ex- 
pense of  quality.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  an  ample  sup- 
ply of  air,  and  a  shorter  blow,  will  give  an  inferior  product,  but,  on 

*  Dot  Berg-  und  Huttenwesen  auf  der  Wettausstellung  in  Chicago.    Ehrenwerth,  1895. 
p.  276. 
t  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    Trans.  A.I.M.E.,  Vol.  XXII.  p,  392, 


112  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

the  other  hand,  the  more  rapid  action  renders  possible  a  lower  ini- 
tial content  of  silicon,  and  this  is  an  advantage. 

SEC.  VIk. — Recarburization. — The  method  of  recarburizing  in 
Bessemer  practice  varies  with  the  character  of  the  product.  In 
making  soft  steel,  solid  ferro  containing  80  per  cent,  of  manganese 
is  thrown  into  the  ladle  during  pouring,  the  loss  of  metallic  man- 
ganese being  about  0.2  per  cent,  of  the  charge.  With  rail  steel  it 
is  customary  to  add  melted  spiegel-iron  either  in  the  vessel  or  in 
the  ladle.  The  loss  of  manganese  depends  upon  the  condition  of 
the  bath  and  upon  the  amount  added.  In  making  soft  steel  it  is 
necessary  to  blow  until  the  carbon  is  reduced  to  about  .05  per  cent., 
and,  if  manganese  be  added  to  the  extent  of  .60  per  cent,  of  the 
weight  of  the  charge,  the  steel  will  contain  .40  per  cent.,  a  loss  of 
.20  per  cent.  If  1.30  per  cent,  be  added,  the  steel  will  contain  only 
.90  per  cent.,  a  loss  of  .40  per  cent.  It  seldom  happens  that  soft 
steel  is  wanted  with  over  .60  per  cent,  manganese,  but  larger  pro- 
portions are  not  unusual  in  rail  steel.  In  the  latter  case  it  is  feasi- 
ble to  economize  by  stopping  the  blow  when  the  carbon  is  about  .10 
per  cent.,  and,  under  these  circumstances,  an  addition  of  1.10  per 
cent,  will  give  0.90  per  cent,  in  the  steel.  These  figures  are  ap- 
proximate, and  represent  what  may  be  expected  in  the  long  run, 
rather  than  on  any  one  heat. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE   BASIC-BESSEMER   PROCESS. 

SECTION  Vila. — Outline  of  the  basic-Bessemer  process. — The 
basic-Bessemer  process  consists  in  blowing  air  into  liquid  pig-iron 
for  the  purpose  of  burning  most  of  the  silicon,  manganese,  carbon, 
phosphorus  and  sulphur  of  the  metal,  the  operation  being  con- 
ducted in  a  basic-lined  vessel,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
product  is  entirely  fluid.  The  method  by  which  the  air  is  intro- 
duced has  little  effect  on  the  product,  but  the  use  of  a  rotary  vessel 
with  bottom  blast  is  universal. 

The  distinctive  feature  of  the  basic  vessel  is  a  lining  which  re- 
sists the  action  of  basic  slags;  this  is  almost  always  made  of  dolo- 
mite. The  stone  must  be  burned  thoroughly  to  expel  the  last 
traces  of  volatile  matter  and  then  ground  and  mixed  with  anhy- 
drous tar.  The  bottom  is  generally  made  by  ramming  the  same 
material  around  pins  which  are  withdrawn  after  firing.  At  one 
German  works  magnesite  tuyeres  are  used  which  last  seventy  heats, 
but  the  cost  is  high  and  the  practice  has  not  been  generally  adopted. 

The  highest  function  of  the  lining  is  to  remain  unaffected  and 
allow  the  basic  additions  to  do  their  work  alone,  so  that  the  rapid 
destruction  of  a  basic,  as  compared  with  an  acid  lining,  is  not  due 
to  any  necessary  part  it  plays  in  the  operation,  but  to  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  basic  material  in  nature  which,  by  moderate  heating, 
will  give  the  firm  bond  that  makes  clay  so  valuable  in  acid  prac- 
tice. The  agent  used  in  its  place  is  a  rich  tar,  and  this  forms  a 
coke  under  the  action  of  heat  and  resists  the  scouring  of  metal  and 
slag,  and,  by  the  time  this  coke  is  burned,  the  dolomite  has  become 
partially  fused  and  "set."  There  is  always,  however,  a  slight  shrink- 
age in  the  burned  stone,  no  matter  how  thoroughly  it  has  been 
roasted,  so  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  self-destruction  through  the 
formation  of  innumerable  disintegrating  cracks. 

When  air  is  blown  through  pig-iron,  the  first  element  affected  is 

113 


114  METALLURGY  CF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

the  silicon.  This  is  true  in  both  the  acid  and  the  basic  processes, 
but  the  elimination  is  less  certain  in  the  acid  process,  for  part  of 
the  silicon  is  sometimes  left  after  the  carbon  is  burned,  if  there  has 
been  an  excessive  temperature  at  an  early  stage  of  the  operation. 
In  the  basic  converter  the  incomplete  combustion  of  silicon  does  not 
occur,  owing  to  three  reasons: 

(1)  The  silicon  is  lower  in  the  pig,  because  the  oxidation  of 
phosphorus  is  relied  upon  for  heat. 

(2)  Burned  lime  is  added  before  blowing,  to  seize  the  silica  as 
soon  as  formed  and  prevent  cutting  of  the  lining,  and  the  heating 
and  melting  of  this  lime  absorbs  so  much  heat  that  the  critical  tem- 
perature cannot  well  be  reached. 

(3)  The  basic  slag  has  a  greater  affinity  for  silica  than  the  sili- 
cious  slag  of  an  acid  converter,  and  it  is  probable  that  under  these 
conditions  the  critical  temperature  is  raised. 

When  the  silicon  is  eliminated,  the  carbon  begins  to  burn  and 
continues  until  there  is  only  about  .05  per  cent.,  while  the  man- 
ganese follows  the  same  course  that  it  does  in  acid  work,  part  of 
it  being  eliminated  while  the  silicon  is  burning  and  another  part 
during  the  combustion  of  carbon.  The  proportion  of  manganese 
at  any  particular  time  will  depend  upon  the  original  percentage  in 
the  pig,  but,  comparing  similar  contents,  the  amount  eliminated 
will  be  less  than  in  the  acid  practice,  for  there  is  less  demand  for 
its  oxide  in  a  basic  slag,  and  the  inducements  to  oxidation  are, 
therefore,  taken  away. 

SEC.  Vllb. — Elimination  of  phosphorus. — With  the  exception  of 
the  basic  lining,  which  is  supposed  to  remain  inert,  and  the  basic 
slag,  which  has  no  chance  in  the  early  part  of  the  operation  to  do 
anything  besides  aid  slightly  in  the  burning  of  silicon  and  retard 
slightly  the  oxidation  of  manganese,  the  reactions  in  the  metal  in 
a  basic  converter  are  almost  identical  with  the  reactions  in  the  acid 
vessel  up  to  the  point  when  the  carbon  is  reduced  to  .05  per  cent. 
From  this  point  comparison  ceases,  for  there  the  acid  process  ends, 
while  the  basic  begins  the  characteristic  chapter  in  its  history  in 
the  elimination  of  phosphorus  and  sulphur. 

In  an  acid  heat  phosphorus  is  present  to  a  certain  extent,  and, 
if  blowing  were  continued,  it  may  be  supposed  that  at  the  very 
surface  of  an  air-bubble  phosphoric  acid  would  be  formed  which, 
rising  through  the  metal,  would  unite  with  oxide  of  iron  and  form 


THE   BASIC-BESSEMER   PROCESS.  115 

phosphate  of  iron ;  but  this  would  immediately  come  in  contact  with 
a  silicious  slag,  or,  in  other  words,  with  a  slag  possessing  more 
than  enough  silica  to  meet  the  requirements  of  its  bases,  and  the 
silica  being  immediately  seized  by  the  oxide  of  iron,  the  unpro- 
tected phosphoric  acid  would  be  robbed  of  its  oxygen  by  the  metal- 
lic iron.  This  may  seem  a  long  explanation  of  the  simple  fact  that 
phosphorus  does  not  oxidize,  but  there  are  reasons  for  supposing 
that  in  many  chemical  actions  the  atoms  are  in  a  state  of  general 
translation,  so  that  while  many  compounds  are  formed,  only  those 
remain  which  find  a  suitable  environment.  It  is  difficult  to  .ex- 
plain the  formation  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  basic  converter  with- 
out assuming  an  action  which  can  just  as  readily  obtain  in  acid 
practice,  although  in  the  one  case  the  product  finds  a  resting-place, 
while  in  the  other  it  is  instantly  destroyed. 

During  the  elimination  of  carbon,  a  small  quantity  of  phos- 
phorus is  burned  and  held  by  the  slag,  but  for  practical  purposes 
the  percentage  at  the  drop  of  the  carbon  flame  is  equal  to  the  initial 
content.  From  that  time  the  phosphorus  seizes  the  oxygen  in  the 
same  way  as  the  silicon  and  carbon  had  done  before,  and  the  iron 
is  perfectly  protected,  the  phosphoric  acid  immediately  uniting  with 
the  lime.  It  might  be  supposed  that  any  other  base  like  oxide  of 
iron  would  serve  to  hold  the  phosphorus,  but  phosphate  of  iron  is 
easily  reduced  by  carbon,  and  in  other  respects  iron  oxide  is  in- 
ferior to  the  oxide  of  calcium  which  gives  a  stable  compound. 

SEC.  VIIc. — Amount  of  lime  required. — The  amount  of  lime 
needed  will  depend  upon  three  conditions,  viz. : 

(1)  The  amount  of  silicon  in  the  pig. 

(2)  The  amount  of  phosphorus  in  the  pig. 

(3)  The  quality  of  the  lime. 

If  the  charge  is  15,000  pounds,  containing  0.50  per  cent,  silicon, 
it  will  produce  160  pounds  of  silica;  and  if  the  final  slag  must 
contain  6.0  per  cent  silica,  then  the  slag  must  weigh  2670  pounds; 
and  if  it  must  have  50  per  cent.  CaO,  then  1335  pounds  of  unsat- 
isfied CaO  must  be  added.  The  qualification  is  inserted  that  it 
must  be  "unsatisfied/'  for  each  pound  of  silica  in  the  lime  detracts 
from  its  efficacy.  Thus,  if  the  lime  contains  2  per  cent.  SiO^  there 
will  be  2  pounds  of  silica  in  every  100  pounds  of  addition,  and  if 
this  is  to  be  made  into  a  slag  containing  6  per  cent,  of  Su)2  and 
50.0  per  cent  of  CaO,  then  8  pounds  of  CaO  is  useless,  since  vt  will 


116 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


be  appropriated  by  its  own  silica.  In  this  way,  10  pounds  of  the 
lime  out  of  every  100  pounds  is  used  in  satisfying  itself. 

The  silica  derived  from  the  lime  and  from  the  silicon  does  not 
entirely  determine  the  quantity  of  lime,  for  there  is  a  limit  to  the 
content  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  cinder.  Thus,  if  a  bath  of 
15,000  pounds  contains  3  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  it  will  produce 
1030  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  if  the  final  slag  is  to  contain 
50  per  cent.  CaO  and  not  over  20  per  cent.  P205,  then  this  slag 
must  weigh  5X1030=5150  pounds,  so  that  H5_a=2575  pounds 
of  CaO  must  be  added  to  the  charge.  It  is  not  specified  in  this 
case  that  the  CaO  shall  be  "unsatisfied,"  for  it  will  be  immaterial 
what  the  silica  may  be  in  the  lime,  as  long  as  the  demands  of  silica 
are  met. 

SEC.  Vlld. — Chemical  reactions. — The  chemical  history  of  the 
basic  converter  is  shown  in  Table  VII-A,  which  gives  the  analyses 
of  metal,  slags  and  gases  at  various  stages  of  the  operation,  as 
given  by  Wedding.  The  high  percentage  of  oxygen  and  carbonic 

TABLE  VII-A. 
Metal,  Slag  and  Gases  from  the  Basic  Converter. 


Time  from 
Beginning. 

Metal. 

Slag. 

SI 

C 

P 

s 

Mn 

SiO, 

CaO 

PaO. 

FeO 

FeaO, 

MnO 

MgO 

Pig  Iron  No.  1 
2m.  46s. 
6m.  21s. 
8m.  6s. 
10m.  45s. 
13m.  28s. 
15m.  13s. 
19m.  14s. 
19m.  81s. 
19m.  49s. 
Bail  Steel, 

1.22 
0.72 
0.15 
0.007 
0.012 
0.005 
0.008 
0.005 
0.005 
0.004 
0.01 

8.21 
8.30 
8.12 
2.47 
1.49 
0.75 
0.05 
0.02 
0.02 

0.20 

2.183 
2.148 
2.224 
2.157 
2.096 
2.053 
1.910 
0.230 
0.139 
0.087 
0.145 

.080 
.047 
.051 
.049 
.051 
.051 
.055 
.060 
.055 
.056 
.045 

1.03 
.71 
.50 
.18 
.16 
.14 
.01 
.01 

'.48 

41.15 
86.80 
84.41 
81.94 
16.64 
14.65 
12.94 
12.20 
11.71 
12.77 

41.27 
89.50 
42.80 
43.12 
44.87 
46.63 
47.76 
48.59 
48.19 
47.87 

0.84 
8.12 
2.99 
4.02 
7.15 
11.60 
18.83 
18.66 
18.15 
16.92 

2.40 
8.97 
8.60 
4.23 
8.42 
7.15 
6.84 
6.79 
7.19 
6.94 

'  6.46* 
0.18 
0.74 
4.95 

8.84 
8.74 
2.80 
2.78 
2.87 

9.08 

11.02 
10.72 
9.94 
8.51 
7.89 
4.25 
4.01 
4.05 
4.80 

4.18 
8.89 
8.85 
4.01 
7.84 
6.34 
6.00 
6.26 
6.88 
6.75 

Pig  Iron  No.  2 
About  8m. 
"      6m. 
"      9m. 
"     12m. 
"     15m. 
Steel, 

0.58- 
0.28 
0.07 
0.07 
0.06 
0.02 
0.02 

8.60 
2.81 
2.02 
1.33 
0.71 
0.105 
0.136 

2.75 
2.57 
2.08 
2.25 
1.55 
0.061 
0.084 

.079 
.079 
.073 
.074 
.079 
.054 
.046 

1.57 
2.50 
0.80 
0.84 
0.26 
0.21 
0.55 

9.20 
9.50 
9.80 
10.28 
6.99 
4.79 

76.10 
71.40 
66.17 
50.71 
46.84 
42.05 

2.94 
6.90 
7.32 
15.87 
24.73 
16.33 

0.55 
0.78 
2.30 
7.13 
11.98 
26.03 

8.87 
9.70 
8.42 
9.45 
6.40 
4.62 

4.86 
6.83 
6.47 
6.90 
4.09 
6.83 

Heat  No.  882. 

Metal. 

Gas. 

Si 

C 

P 

S 

Mn 

CO, 

O 

CO 

CH4 

N 

Sample  1 

"        3 

"        4 
"        5 

.28 
.07 
.07 
.06 

.02 

2.81 
2.02 
1.33 
.71 
.105 

2.57 
2.08 
2.25 
1.55 
.061 

.079 
.078 
.074 
.079 
.054 

2.50 
.80 
.84 
.26 
.21 

8.5 
8.0 
8.0 
1.8 
1.2 

8.1 
8.0 
0.3 
0.2 
0.8 

2.0 
10.6 
28.3 
29.8 
1.6 

0.9 
1.0 
1.6 
1.8 
0.9 

85.0 
81.4 
66.6 
65.0 
95.6 

THE   BASIC-BESSEMER   PROCESS. 


117 


acid  in  the  gases  during  the  first  stage  of  the  operation  arises  from 
the  chilling  action  of  the  basic  additions,  for  at  low  temperatures 
carbonic  acid  is  not  readily  reduced  by  carbon,  but  as  the  metal  be- 
comes hotter  the  carbon  assumes  more  complete  command  and  ap- 
pears almost  entirely  in  the  form  of  carbonic  oxide.  At  the  end 
of  the  blow,  when  phosphorus  is  burning,  the  oxygen  is  held  in  the 
bath  and  the  only  gaseous  product  is  the  nitrogen,  so  that  when  the 
combustion  of  phosphorus  is  ended  there  is  no  such  sudden  change 
in  the  character  of  the  flame  as  marks  the  death  of  the  carbon  re- 
action, and  in  order  to  be  sure  of  the  purity  of  the  metal  it  is  neces- 
sary to  make  fracture  tests  on  small  sample  ingots  before  the  charge 
is  poured  from  the  converter. 

SEC.  Vile. — Elimination  of  sulphur. — Sulphur  is  partly  re- 
moved at  the  same  time  as  the  phosphorus,  but,  if  in  large  quan- 
tity, it  may  be  necessary  to  continue  the  blast  after  dephosphoriza- 
tion  with  the  sacrifice  of  iron.  This,  however,  is  bad  practice,  and 
is  far  from  being  economical  or  desirable.  In  a  series  of  heats 
made  by  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  in  1883,  a  content  of 
0.25  per  cent,  was  reduced  below  0.05  per  cent.  Manganese  was 

TABLE  VII-B. 
Reduction  of  Manganese  from  Slag  in  the  Basic  Converter. 

(See  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  I,  1893,  p.  63.) 


Heat. 

Time  of  taking  test  of  metal. 

Composition,  per  cent.,  of 
the  metal  in  the  bath. 

Mn. 

P. 

S. 

No.  184 

Disappearance  of  spectrum  line, 
At  second  lime  addition, 

0.19 
0.62 

2.070 
0.463 

0.188 
0.067 

No.  185 

Disappearance  of  spectrum  lirte, 
At  second  lime  addition, 

0.24 
0.81 

2.180 
0.718 

0.072 
0.042 

No.  186 

Disappearance  of  spectrum  line, 
At  second  lime  addition, 

0.24 
0.79 

2.390 
0.483 

0.081 
0.047    ' 

present  up  to  about  2.0  per  cent.,  and  this  aids  in  the  work,  prob- 
ably by  the  formation  of  sulphide  of  manganese.  Even  after  the 
manganese  has  entered  the  slag  it  may  be  available  for  this  func- 
tion, for  it  can  be  reduced  by  the  phosphorus  and  incorporated  into 
the  metal.  Table  VII-B  is  from  a  paper  by  Stead*  to  show  the 

*  On  the  Elimination  of  Sulphur  from  Iron.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I..  Vol.  1, 1893,  p.  61. 


118 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


increase  of  manganese  in  the  bath  during  a  time  when  there  was 
no  addition  of  this  element  from  outside  the  vessel. 

The  quantitative  .investigation  of  the  basic  converter  is  unsatis- 
factory, as  some  lime  is  blown  out  as  soon  as  the  charge  is  turned 
up,  while  at  a  later  time  a  large  amount  of  slag  may  be  expelled 
by  explosive  action,  this  being  particularly  marked  when  the  tem- 
perature is  low.  Moreover,  the  lumps  of  lime  do  not  immediately 
become  incorporated  into  the  slag  and  no  true  sample  can  be 
taken.  It  is  from  these  causes  that  contradictory  statements  are 
made  by  careful  observers. 

TABLE  VII-C. 
High-Sulphur  Iron  in  the  Basic  Converter. 

(See  Journal  I.  and  8.  I.,  Vol.  I,  1893,  pp.  61  and  62.) 


Metal. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

Initial. 

Desili- 
conized. 

Decar- 
burized. 

Dephos- 
phorized. 

Steel. 

Carbon       

2.82 
0.66 
1.57 
0.16 
1.85 

2.180 
0.200 
0.300 
0.148 
1.920 

0.07 
0.09 
0.07 
0.16 
1.53 

0.02 
0.06 
trace. 
0.08 
0.04 

Manganeso  

Silicon              ... 

Sulphur  

0.07 

Phosphorus           ... 

Slag. 

CaO    

44.30 
0.72 
6.60 
4.38 
1.29 
89.20 
2.61 
0.16 

47.00 
0.86 
4.46 
8.23 
1.00 
29.80 
7.83 
0.10 

46.70 
1.80 
2.51 
14.02 
4.29 
14.90 
14.86 
0.36 

MgO      

MnO           

10.79 
9.00 
2.14 

FeO    

Si(5   * 

•p  ff 

'  6.36* 

s    '  :*:::::::::: 

Probable  weight  of  liquid 
Blag  in  per  cent,  of  metal  . 

7 

11 

27 



0.087 

0.008 


Quantitative  calculation  on  the  Sulphur. 
Sulphur  in  lime  used,  per  cent.=  0.054  per  cent. 
Sulphur  in  Slags 

27  per  cent,  of  slag  @  0.86  per  cent.  S  (see  above  columns)  =  per  cent.    . 
Less  sulphur  in  lime  added  =  15.2  per  cent,  of  0.054  per  cent.  =  per  cent. 

Total  sulphur  received  from  metal,  per  cent 0.089 

Sulphur  removed  from  metal: 

100  parts  of  initial  iron  contained,  per  cent 0.160 

Less  85  parts  of  blown  metal  containing  0.080  per  cent.  S  =  per  cent.  .  .  0.068 

Total  sulphur  removed,  per  cent 0.092 

Wedding  states*  that  there  is  a  volatilization  of  both  sulphur 
and  phosphorus,  as  proven  by  the  fact  that  the  slags  from  sulphur- 
ous metal  do  not  give  correspondingly  increased  percentages  of 


The  Process  of  German  Metallurgy.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E,,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  367. 


THE    BASIC-BESSEMER   PROCESS.  119 

CaS,  while  in  the  cinder  from  hot  charges  there  will  sometimes  be 
from  30  to  40  per  cent,  less  weight  of  phosphorus  than  was  present 
in  the  pig-iron,  although  a  cold  blow  will  show  the  full  amount. 
On  the  other  hand,  Stead*  gives  the  figures  for  a  basic  charge  where 
all  the  sulphur  that  was  lost  by  the  metal  appeared  in  the  final 
slag.  The  analyses  and  summary  are  given  in  Table  VII-C. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  calculation  rests  on  "the  probable  weight 
of  liquid  slag"  for  one  heat,  and  this  can  hardly  be  considered  a 
conclusive  proof  that  volatilization  cannot  occur,  or  that  it  does 
not  often  occur,  or  even  that  it  does  not  usually  occur.  In  another 
chapter  (see  Sec.  Xlk)  I  have  tried  to  show  that  such  loss  of  sul- 
phur may  take  place  in  open-hearth  practice,  and,  if  this  is  true, 
it  seems  probable  that  it  will  also  hold  good  in  the  converter. 

Some  years  ago  it  was  the  practice  at  two  different  works  in 
Germany  to  add  two-thirds  of  the  lime  at  the  beginning,  so  that 
when  the  metal  was  nearly  dephosphorized  the  slag  could  be  de- 
canted, after  which  the  rest  of  the  lime  could  be  put  in  and  the 
final  dephosphorization  effected  by  a  purer  slag.  The  first  cinder, 
which  was  rich  in  phosphorus  and  poor  in  iron,  was  fit  for  agricul- 
tural purposes,  while  the  second,  poorer  in  phosphorus  and  richer 
in  iron,  was  used  in  the  blast  furnace. 

This  practice  has  been  discontinued  and  at  all  works  the  total 
quantity  of  lime  is  added  at  the  beginning  of  the  blow.  The  final 
slag  runs  as  follows,  in  per  cent. :  Si02,  5  to  6 ;  CaO,  45  to  50 ; 
P205,  16  to  20;  FeO,  11  to  13;  MnO,  5  to  6;  MgO,  5  to  6.  In 
some  cases  the  Si02  may  be  higher,  but  the  P,05  is  then  in  a  less 
soluble  state,  and  the  slag  is  not  so  well  suited  for  agricultural 
purposes. 

SEC.  Vllf. — Calorific  equation. — The  calorific  equation  of  the 
basic  converter  may  be  calculated  by  the  same  method  that  was 
used  in  the  work  on  the  acid  process  (see  Table  VI-F),  but  the 
great  quantity  of  slag  and  the  absorption  of  heat  in  its  liquefaction 
render  accurate  results  rather  hard  to  obtain.  The  silicon  is  lower 
in  the  pig-iron,  and  consequently  the  heat  derived  from  this  source 
is  less,  but  the  phosphorus  more  than  makes  up  for  the  decrease. 
In  the  calculation  in  Section  Vlf  the  net  value  of  silicon  per  kg. 
was  4686  calories;  of  iron  741  cals. ;  of  carbon  1163  cals.,  and,  by 
the  same  method,  we  find  that  the  value  of  phosphorus  is  3821 

*  On  the  Elimination  of  Sulphur  from  Iron.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I.  Vol.  1, 1893,  p.  61. 


120  METALLUKGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

calories.  Assuming  an  iron  with  Si=Q.5%,  T?—1.5%,  C=4.0%, 
and  assuming  that  4.0  per  cent,  of  iron  is  burned  to  useful  pur- 
pose, the  heat  produced  per  1000  kilos  of  iron  will  be  as  shown  in 
Table  VII-D,  the  total  being  about  50  per  cent,  more  than  in  the 
acid  converter. 

TABLE  VII-D. 
Production  of  Heat  in  the  Basic  Converter. 

5  kg.  silicon   23,430  calories 

35  kg.  carbon    40,700 

40  kg.  iron 29,640 

15  kg.  phosphorus 57,315 

Total 151,085 

The  pig-iron  for  basic-Bessemer  work  should  contain  less  than 
1.0  per  cent,  of  silicon,  a  content  of  0.5  to  0.6  per  cent,  being  not 
unusual.  It  should  carry  from  1.0  to  2.0  per  cent,  of  manganese 
to  assist  in  removing  sulphur.  The  phosphorus,  according  to  Har- 
bord,*  should  be  from  2.5  to  3.0  per  cent.,  in  order  to  have  a  mar- 
gin of  heat,  but  this  assertion  is  probably  based  on  English  prac- 
tice, as,  in  Germany,  it  is  found  that  2.0  per  cent,  of  phosphorus 
is  sufficient.  The  loss  in  the  converter  formerly  ranged  from  13  to 
17  per  cent,  in  different  works,  but  now,  in  the  best  Westphalian 
plants,  running  on  direct  iron,  it  is  as  low  as  10  per  cent. 

SEC.  Vllg. — Recarburization. — Eecarburization  is  the  greatest 
problem  of  the  basic-Bessemer  process,  for  at  the  end  of  the  oper- 
ation the  metal  contains  much  more  oxygen  than  an  acid  bath, 
while  the  slag,  instead  of  being  viscous  and  inactive,  is  liquid  and 
has  some  loosely  held  oxide  of  iron.  In  making  rail  steel  by  the 
use  of  melted  spiegel,  this  oxygen  in  metal  and  slag  may  give  a 
reaction  with  the  carbon  of  the  recarburizer,  and  the  carbonic  oxide 
which  is  formed  reduce  some  phosphorus  from  the  slag.  This  ac- 
tion is  shown  in  Table  VII-A,  where  the  phosphorus  was  raised  in 
the  case  of  "pig-iron  No.  1"  from  .087  before  recarburization  to 
.145  in  the  finished  product,  the  latter  figure  being  too  high  for 
good  rail  steel. 

When  making  soft  steel  by  the  addition  of  solid  ferro-man- 

*  Steel,  p.  90. 


THE   BASIC-BESSEMER   PROCESS.  121 

ganese  the  rephosphorization  is  less,  but  with  bad  practice  it  may 
be  a  troublesome  factor.  In  "pig-iron  No.  2,"  Table  YII-A,  the 
silicon  is  low  in  the  pig,  and  the  slag  is  rich  in  bases,  yet  the  phos- 
phorus in  the  metal  was  raised  from  .061  to  .084  per  cent.,  giving 
a  content  too  high  for  the  softest  grades.  The  records  in  these 
tables  relate  to  general  practice  some  years  ago,  and  can  hardly  be 
said  to  represent  the  best  work  to-day.  Rephosphorization  is  now 
controlled  by  keeping  the  temperature  as  low  as  possible,  by  using 
a  calcareous  cinder,  and  by  preventing  the  mixing  of  slag  and 
steel  during  recarburization.  This  is  done  by  decanting  the  slag 
before  pouring  the  steel,  and  making  a  dam  to  hold  back  the  re- 
mainder of  the  cinder.  In  going  over  the  records  of  one  of  the 
best  works  in  Germany  and  taking  averages  of  large  numbers  of 
heats,  the  rephosphorization  in  rail  steel  was  about  .025  per  cent. 
Five  averages  resulted  thus,  in  each  case  the  first  figure  being  the 
bath  before  recarburization  and  the  second  the  final  steel:  .044  to 
.070;  .039  to  .056;  .036  to  .062;  .032  to  .056;  .043  to  .070.  In  no 
case  was  there  any  charge  where  the  resultant  phosphorus  was  be- 
yond the  usual  limit  for  rails.  In  soft  steels  the  rephosphorization 
is  less,  owing  to  the  less  violent  reaction,  and  the  phosphorus  con- 
tent is  lower  than  just  shown  in  rail  steel,  but  the  variations,  both 
in  phosphorus  and  sulphur,  are  greater  than  in  American  open- 
hearth  steel.  The  established  American  standards  call  for  below 
.04  phosphorus  in  all  basic  steel  for  bridges  and  boilers,  and  every 
heat  is  analyzed  for  sulphur,  something  that  is  seldom  done  on  the 
Continent.  The  foreign  engineers  are  in  no  degree  so  exacting  as 
the  American  in  regard  to  chemical  composition. 

Note :   Further  remarks  on  the  operation  of  basic  converters  will 
be  found  in  Chapter  XXIV. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    OPEN-HEARTH    FURNACE. 

SECTION  Villa. — Description  of  a  regenerative  furnace. — The 
open-hearth  process  consists  in  melting  pig-iron,  mixed  with  more 
or  less  wrought-iron,  steel,  or  similar  iron  products,  by  exposure 
to  the  direct  action  of  the  flame  in  a  regenerative  gas  furnace,  and 
converting  the  resultant  bath  into  steel,  the  operation  being  so 
conducted  that  the  final  product  is  entirely  fluid. 

Regeneration  is  specified,  because  it  is  impracticable  to  obtain  the 
necessary  temperature  in  any  other  way.  The  construction  of  melt- 
ing furnaces  varies  in  every  place,  but  in  all  of  them  the  general 
principles  are  the  same.  Where  natural  gas  is  used,  the  fuel  is  not 
regenerated,  but  the  air  is  always  preheated.  The  following  de- 
scription will  assume  that  both  gas  and  air  undergo  the  same 
treatment.  In  Fig.  VIII-A  is  given  a  drawing  of  a  common  type 
of  furnace;  its  faults  will  be  discussed  later,  but  it  will  illustrate 
the  method  of  operation.  The  gas  enters  the  chamber  F,  which  is 
surrounded  by  thick  walls  and  filled  with  brickwork  so  laid  that  a 
large  amount  of  heating  surface  is  exposed,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  free  passage  for  the  gas  is  assured.  The  air  enters  a  similar 
chamber,  E.  In  starting  a  furnace,  the  bricks  in  these  chambers 
are  heated  before  any  gases  are  admitted.  With  rich  fuels,  like 
natural  gas,  this  may  not  be  essential,  but  ordinary  producer  gas, 
when  cold,  can  hardly  be  burned  with  air  at  the  ordinary  tempera- 
ture, and  an  attempt  to  do  so  may  result  in  serious  explosions,  so 
that  it  is  advisable  to  heat  the  furnace  by  a  wood  fire  until  the 
regenerators  show  signs  of  redness.  When,  finally,  the  gas  and  air 
are  admitted,  precautions  are  taken  to  avoid  explosions  by  filling 
the  passages  with  the  waste  gases  from  the  wood  fire. 

The  first  effect  of  their  entrance  is  to  cool  the  chambers  on  the 
incoming  end,  for  no  heat  is  produced  until  they  meet  in  the  port 
at  0.  From  this  point  the  flame  warms  the  furnace  and  also  the 

122 


THE  OPEX-IIEARTH  FURNACE.  123 

chambers  E2  and  F2,  through  which  the  products  of  combustion 
pass  to  the  stack.  After  the  brickwork  in  the  first  set  of  chambers 
has  been  partially  cooled  by  the  incoming  gases,  the  currents  are 
reversed  by  means  of  suitable  valves,  and  the  gas  and  air  enter  the 
furnace  by  way  of  the  chambers  E2  and  F2,  which,  as  just  stated, 
have  been  heated  by  the  products  of  combustion.  It  will  be  evi- 
dent that  on  every  reversal  the  temperature  of  the  furnace  will  be 
higher,  for  not  only  will  there  be  the  normal  increment  due  to  the 
continued  action  of  the  flame  which  would  obtain  in  any  system, 
but  there  is  another  action  peculiar  to  a  regenerative  construction, 
for  the  gases  passing  through  the  chambers  are  hotter  on  every 
change  in  the  currents  and  produce  a  more  intense  temperature  in 
combustion.  Thus  the  action  is  cumulative,  and  there  is  a  con- 
stant increment  of  heat  throughout  the  whole  construction. 

In  the  case  of  a  furnace  which  has  an  insufficient  supply  of  fuel 
and  which  contains  a  full  charge  of  metal,  the  increased  radiation 
at  high  temperatures  may  prevent  the  attainment  of  too  high  a 
heat ;  but  in  a  good  furnace  the  action  is  so  rapid  that  the  supply 
of  gas  and  air  must  be  carefully  regulated,  in  order  that  radiation 
can  maintain  an  equilibrium.  This  necessary  control  of  tempera- 
ture places  a  limit  on  the  heat  of  the  regenerators,  so  that  they  are 
usually  at  about  1800°  F.  (say  1000°  C.).  Dissociation  plays  no 
part  in  the  operation,  for,  with  common  producer  gas  and  air,  both 
admitted  to  the  valves  at  a  temperature  of  about  60°  F.  (16°  C.), 
the  melting  chamber  may  easily  fuse  a  very  pure  sand  into  viscous 
porcelain.  One  such  specimen  of  fused  material  showed  the  fol- 
lowing composition,  in  per  cent. :  SiO,,  98.82 ;  A1203,  0.9 ;  Fe203, 
0.2. 

SEC.  VHIb. — Quality  of  the  gas  required. — The  system  of  re- 
generation, which  supplies  the  furnace  with  a  fuel  already  raised  to 
a  yellow  heat,  renders  unnecessary  any  stringent  specifications  re- 
garding the  quality  of  the  gas.  Ordinary  producer  gas  contains  over 
60  per  cent,  of  non-combustible  material,  and  yet  is  all  that  can  be 
desired,  as  far  as  thermal  power  is  concerned.  Sulphurous  acid 
and  steam  are  objectionable,  but  rather  from  their  chemical  action 
upon  the  metal  than  from  any  interference  with  calorific  develop- 
ment. Sulphur  in  large  amounts  causes  trouble,  as  it  is  absorbed 
by  the  steel. 

Steam  gives  rise  to  increased  oxidation  of  the  metalloids  and  a 


124 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


greater  waste  of  iron.  This  oxidation  is  not  always  objectionable,, 
for,  if  the  charge  contains  an  excess  of  pig-iron,  some  agent  must 
be  used  to  burn  the  silicon  and  carbon.  A  gas  containing  hydrogen, 
like  natural  gas  or  petroleum,  will  be  more  efficient  in  this  work 
than  a  dry  carbonic  oxide  flame,  while  an  excess  of  steam  will  make 
the  action  still  more  rapid;  but  its  use  is  not  to  be  recommended, 
for  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  oxide  of  iron  will  unite  with 
the  silica  of  the  hearth  and  be  lost  beyond  recovery.  It  is  better  to 
have  no  free  steam  during  the  melting  of  the  charge,  while,  after 
the  melting  is  done,  the  oxygen  may  be  supplied  in  the  form  of  ore 
with  more  satisfactory  results. 

The  metal  at  the  time  of  tapping  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  the  condition  of  steel  in  a  crucible  during  the  "dead  melt,"  and 
this  can  only  be  attained  by  a  neutral  flame.  In  spite  of  the  opin- 
ions of  many  metallurgists,  such  a  flame  cannot  be  obtained  for 
any  length  of  time,  since  it  has  no  active  calorific  power,  and  even 
when  black  smoke  is  pouring  from  the  stack,  the  silicon,  man- 


Longitudinal  Section  through  Center  of  Furnace. 

S,  E,,  air  chambers;  F,  Fy  gas  chambers;  H, gas  port;  /.air  port;  JT, furnace* 
hearth ;  L,  flues  to  valves ;  M,  M,  binding  rods ;  O,  meeting  place  of  gas  and  air. 

FIG.  VIII-A.— BAD  TYPE  OF  AN  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE.  125 

ganese,  carbon  and  iron  are  absorbing  oxygen  from  the  gases.  A 
carbonic  oxide  flame  can  be  made  more  nearly  neutral  than  any 
other,  and  hence  is  more  desirable  at  the  end  of  the  operation. 

SEC.  VIIIc. — Construction,  of  a  furnace. — In  the  furnace  exhib- 
ited in  Fig.  VIII-A  the  hearth  sits  partly  upon  the  arches  of  the 
chambers.  These  arches,  during  the  entire  run  of  the  furnace,  are 
at  a  bright  yellow  heat  and  are  subjected  to  strains  and  deforma- 
tion by  the  alternating  shrinking  and  expansion  of  the  walls  that 
support  them.  A  poorer  foundation  for  a  furnace  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  conceive,  and  some  day  there  must  be  a  long  stop  to  make 
what  are  called  "general  repairs,"  this  term  being  often  used  to 
cover  the  alterations  consequent  upon  defective  installation. 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  just  what  the  best  construction  is  to  avoid 
these  difficulties.  H.  W.  Lash,  of  Pittsburg,  devised  horizontal 
chambers,  and  thereby  the  charging  floor  of  the  furnace  was  brought 
down  to  the  general  level,  and  it  was  not  necessary  to  elevate  the 
stock.  There  are  objections,  however,  to  horizontal  chambers,  for 
the  tendency  of  the  hot  gases  is  to  seek  the  upper  passages  and 
the  benefit  of  the  full  area  is  not  secured.  In  vertical  chambers, 
on  the  contrary,  there  is  an  automatic  regulation  of  the  current; 
for,  if  there  is  a  hot  place,  the  in-going  cool  gases  naturally  seek 
it,  and  if  there  is  a  cool  place,  the  out-going  hot  gases  find  it,  and 
there  is  a  constant  tendency  to  equalization  and  to  the  highest 
efficiency  of  a  given  regenerator  content.  The  worst  feature  of 
horizontal  chambers  is  the  lack  of  any  propelling  action  of  the 
gases.  With  vertical  regenerators  the  hot  gas  and  air  rise  naturally 
and  force  themselves  into  the  furnace,  but  with  horizontal  passages 
there  is  only  a  slight  positive  pressure  due  to  the  short  up-take  near 
the  furnace.  The  fuel  will  and  should  leave  the  producer  under  a 
slight  pressure,  so  that  it  will  need  no  further  assistance  on  its  way 
to  the  furnace,  but  it  is  advisable  to  force  the  air  with  a  fan-blower. 

The  room  necessary  in  a  regenerator  is  something  on  which 
there  is  great  difference  of  opinion,  but  a  much  larger  amount  is 
economical  than  is  generally  given.  If  the  chambers  are  large 
enough,  all  the  heat  can  be  intercepted,  and  the  gases  will  go  to  the 
stack  at  the  temperature  of  the  incoming  gas  and  the  incoming 
air,  but  this  would  be  carrying  things  to  an  extreme.  The  gases 
should  not  be  at  a  red  heat,  although  a  very  large  number  of  fur- 
naces are  running  with  fair  fuel  economy  where  the  gases,  during 


126  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

most  of  the  melting  operation,  escape  to  the  stack,  showing  a  dull 
red  or  a  full  red  temperature. 

The  space  occupied  by  the  air  and  gas  checkers  combined  should 
be  at  least  50  cubic  feet  per  ton  of  steel  in  the  furnace,  while  to 
get  the  best  results  this  figure  should  be  at  least  doubled.  In  other 
words,  in  a  50-ton  furnace  the  checker  bricks  in  each  chamber 
should  occupy  at  least  2500  cubic  feet,  which  is  equivalent  to  a 
space  16'xl6'xlO',  while,  if  they  occupy  a  space  20'x20'xl2',  there 
will  be  a  saving  in  fuel.  These  dimensions  do  not  include  the 
space  below  the  bricks  to  give  draft  area  for  the  gases,  nor  the 
space  above  the  bricks  to  allow  the  flame  to  spread  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  chamber. 

In  the  40-ton  Steelton  furnace,  in  Fig.  VIII-B,  the  volume 
occupied  by  the  air  checkers  is  about  45  feet  per  ton;  the  gas 
chamber  is  less,  so  that  the  total  is  from  65  to  70  feet  for  both 
chambers.  The  double  passage,  however,  allows  a  better  absorption 
than  would  be  given  by  the  same  volume  in  one  mass.  In  the  50-ton 
Steelton  furnace  in  Fig.  VIII-C  the  total  checker  volume  on  one 
end  is  about  100  feet;  in  the  30-ton  Donawitz  furnace  in  Fig. 
VIII-D  about  110  feet;  in  the  50-ton  Duquesne  furnace  in  Fig. 
VIII-E  about  55  feet,  and  in  the  50-ton  Sharon  furnace  in  Fig. 
VIII-F  about  90  feet. 

In  another  open-hearth  plant  the  gas  checkers  on  each  end  occu- 
pied 17  cubic  feet  per  ton  of  steel  and  the  air  checkers  32  cubic  feet. 
The  products  of  combustion  passing  to  the  chimney  from  this 
furnace  were  red  hot  during  a  portion  of  the  operation. 

The  information  just  given  is  by  no  means  sufficient  in  stating 
merely  the  space  occupied  by  the  bricks,  for  it  is  fully  as  important 
to  know  the  space  left  between  them  for  the  passage  of  the  gases. 
The  area  of  these  channels  must  be  far  in  excess  of  the  area  of  the 
ports  or  of  the  flue  leading  to  the  chimney,  since  the  friction  caused 
by  the  small  passages  will  retard  the  flow  of  gases,  and  this  retarda- 
tion will  increase  continually  during  the  running  of  the  furnace 
owing  to  the  deposits  of  dust  in  these  passages,  decreasing  the  size 
of  the  orifices  and  forming  a  rough  surface  for  the  current  to  pass 
over.  For  this  reason  the  sum  of  the  area  of  all  the  passages  be- 
tween the  bricks  must  be  several  times  as  great  as  the  size  of  the 
flues  and  ports.  The  area  between  the  bricks  will  in  great  measure 
determine  the  life  of  the  checker  bricks,  for  these  bricks  must  be 


THE  OPEN-HEAKTH   FURNACE. 


127 


i_ 


128 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

I 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


129 


changed  when  the  passages  are  clogged  with  dust.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  loss  of  heat  will  also  depend  on  these  areas,  for  with  larger 
orifices  the  gases  will  go  through  the  checkers  and  to  the  stack 
without  giving  up  their  heat  to  the  bricks,  so  that  furnacemen  must 
arrive  at  a  compromise  between  large  openings  to  allow  long  life 
to  the  checkers,  and  small  openings  to  allow  proper  absorption  of 
teat.  There  is  also  a  third  consideration,  which  is  to  arrange  the 
bricks  in  such  a  way  that  they  present  the  maximum  area  of  heat 
absorption  with  the  least  interference  with  the  passage  of  the  gases, 
and  with  the  least  opportunity  for  the  deposition  of  dust  on  horizon- 
tal surfaces. 

The  air  chamber  should  be  larger  than  the  gas  chamber,  because 
.a  cubic  foot  of  gas  requires  more  than  a  cubic  foot  of  air  to  attain 


TIG.  VIII-C.— 50-ToN  CAMPBELL  BASIC  FURNACE,  STEELTON,  PA. 


130 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


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THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE.  131 

complete  combustion  and  to  have  a  slight  excess  of  oxygen ;  more- 
ox  er,  the  air  enters  cold,  while  the  gas  is  generally  warm;  but  in 
practice  the  relative  volumes  of  the  gas  and  air  chambers  will 
usually  be  determined  more  by  the  difficulties  of  getting  room 
than  by  nice  calculations  on  the  volumes  of  gases.  It  is  well,  how- 
ever, to  keep  the  principle  in  mind  that  if  the  gas  is  hot  there  is  less 
work  for  the  gas  chamber  to  do,  and  the  fact  that  the  gases  escaping 
to  the  chimney  are  at  a  high  temperature -has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  case,  for  if  the  entering  gases  are  hot  the  escaping  gases  must 
be  hotter.  With  a  given  sized  chamber,  the  escaping  gases  will  be 
just  a  certain  number  of  degrees  hotter  than  the  gases  that  go  into 
it.  If  this  difference  is  300°,  then  if  the  entering  gas  is  400°,  the 
escaping  gases  will  be  700°,  and  if  the  entering  gases  are  700°,  the 
outgoing  gases  will  be  1000°,  so  that  it  would  be  useless  to  increase 
the  size  of  the  chamber  just  because  the  outgoing  gases  are  hot, 
for  these  conditions  are  caused  by  hot  entering  gases,  and  the  es- 
caping products  would  be  hot  no  matter  how  large  the  chamber 
might  be.  Different  melters  have  different  ideas  as  to  how  a  fur- 
nace should  be  run,  and  it  is  sometimes  better  to  let  them  have  their 
own  way  than  to  change  the  practice  radically  to  accomplish  a 
small  saving.  One  melter  may  do  better  work  if  the  air  is  extremely 
hot,  while  another  may  prefer  that  the  air  be  colder  than  the  gas. 
These  differences  also  arise  from  the  particular  construction  of 
ports,  so  that  if  an  attempt  is  made  to  change  the  relative  tempera- 
ture of  the  chambers,  it  might  necessitate  a  change  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  ports  and  the  roof  of  the  furnace. 

Under  such  circumstances  the  most  practicable  thing  to  do  is  to 
run  the  temperatures  of  the  chambers  in  accordance  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  ports  and  the  roof.  These  conditions  will  often- 
times make  considerable  difference  in  the  relative  amounts  of  heat 
•delivered  to  the  gas  and  air  chambers,  and,  therefore,  will  de- 
termine the  relative  size  of  the  two  chambers,  and  this  may  account 
for  the  difference  of  opinion  concerning  the  proper  area  for  the 
regenerators. 

In  the  Schonwalder  construction,  introduced  abroad,  the  main 
point  is  to  have  large  flues  underneath  the  checkers,  so  as  to  insure 
free  draught  in  all  parts  of  the  chamber,  so  that  the  hot  gases  will 
go  down  and  the  cold  gases  come  up,  equally  over  the  entire  horizon- 
tal cross-section.  To  make  more  certain,  the  chamber  is  divided 


132  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

into  two  compartments  by  a  vertical  wall,  and  separate  flues  run 
from  the  valve  to  each.  The  results  indicate  that  a  saving  of  fuel 
follows  this  construction.  It  often  happens  that  it  is  impossible  to 
build  a  furnace  exactly  as  desired.  This  was  the  case  in  Figs. 
VIII-B  and  VIII-C,  for  permanent  water  existed  only  fifteen  feet 
below  the  general  level,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  sufficient  room  for 
checkers.  In  this  case  the  air  is  blown  by  a  centrifugal  fan,  the 
pressure  being  very  low. 

Fig.  VIII-D  shows  the  method  of  construction  for  basic  furnaces 
at  Donawitz,  Austria,  where  the  practice  is  excellent  both  in  life  of 
furnace  and  amount  of  product.  Fig.  VIII-E  shows  the  50-ton 
basic  furnaces  at  Duquesne,  Pa.,  and  Fig.  VIII-F  those  at  Sharon, 
Pa.  The  drawing  of  the  Duquesne  furnace  shows  how  the  capacity 
of  the  chambers  may  be  decreased  when  natural  gas  is  used,  as  both 
regenerators  are  available  for  heating  the  air. 

SEC.  VHId. — Tilting  open-hearth  furnace. — Many  years  ago 
I  put  in  operation  the  first  tilting  open-hearth  furnace,  while 
a  few  years  afterwards  Mr.  Wellman  built  a  similar  furnace,  but 
used  a  different  system  of  tilting.  In  the  original  type  the  furnace 
sits  on  live  rollers  running  on  circular  paths;  the  center  of  these 
circular  arcs  is  coincident  with  the  center  of  the  port  through  which 
the  gas  and  air  enter  the  furnace,  so  that  the  opening  in  the  end 
of  the  furnace  coincides  with  the  port  opening,  no  matter  what 
position  the  furnace  may  occupy,  and  for  this  reason  there  is  no 
occasion  to  cut  off  the  gas  and  air  when  the  furnace  is  rotated. 
In  the  Wellman  type  the  furnace  rolls  forward  upon  a  horizontal 
track  and  it  is  necessary  to  shut  off  the  gas  and  air  as  soon  as  the 
furnace  is  tipped  from  its  normal  position. 

I  have  often  been  asked  to  compare  the  relative  advantages  of 
these  two  types,  and  although  evidently  I  cannot  render  a  judicial 
and  unbiased  judgment,  it  may  be  proper  to  express  my  opinions, 
whether  they  be  judicial  or  not. 

(1)  Both  types  of  tilting  furnaces  do  away  with  most  of  the 
work  and  delay  connected  with  the  tap-hole,  and  when  the  bottom 
is  good  the  next  charge  can  be  put  in  as  soon  as  the  metal  is  tapped. 

(2)  If  the  bottom  is  bad,  especially  when  there  is  a  hole  in  the 
flat,  a  stationary  furnace  is  often  delayed  by  the  tap-hole.     In  a 
tilting  furnace  of  either  type  a  hole  can  be  drained  dry  by  tilting 
the  furnace  and  repaired  in  that  position. 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


133 


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134 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 

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135 


136 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


THE  OPEN-HEABTH  FURNACE. 


137 


138 


METALLURGY  OP  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


139 


140 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


[1 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE.  141 

(3)  It  is  possible  to  make  the  back  wall,  in  either  type,  by  tilt- 
ing the  furnace  to  its  extreme  position  and  throwing  bottom  ma- 
terial on  the  back  side,  for  this  wall,  which  is  nearly  vertical  dur- 
ing the  regular  operation,  becomes  more  nearly  horizontal  when 
tipped  over. 

In  the  foregoing  points  both  tilting  types  share,  but  the  original 
furnace  has  certain  important  advantages. 

(4)  The  back  wall  can  be  made  more  readily  in  the  Campbell 
type,  for  in  the  Wellman  construction  no  gas  can  be  kept  on  the 
furnace  when  it  is  tipped,  while  in  the  first  construction  a  flame 
is  kept  constantly  going  through.     The  setting  of  a  sand  bottom 
requires  an  extremely  high  temperature,  and  it  would  be  impossible 
to  set  sand  on  the  back  wall  without  raising  the  furnace  to  its  full 
temperature.     It  would,  therefore,  be  impossible  to  do  this  in  a 
Wellman  furnace,  while  it  has  been  done  regularly  at  Steelton.    In 
a  basic  furnace  the  Wellman  furnace  is  able  to  coke  and  harden  a 
tar  mixture  in  place  by  the  heat  of  the  walls  and  bottom,  but  the 
work  must  be  less  satisfactory  than  in  a  furnace  where  the  flame 
can  immediately  be  put  upon  the  dolomite  and  the  coking  be  done 
quickly,  and  the  furnace  be  heated  for  the  next  charge,  instead  of 
being  cooled  by  exposure. 

(5)  Owing  to  the  ability  to  build  the  back  wall  in  this  man- 
ner a  steep  slope  can  be  maintained,  much  steeper  than  can  be 
kept  in  a  stationary  furnace.     If  a  vertical  wall  could  be  main- 
tained at  the  slag  line,  the  action  would  be  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
because  it  would  be  impossible  for  pieces  of  ore  or  scrap  to  lodge 
anywhere,  and  because  the  area  of  the  surface  exposed  to  slag 
would  be  less. 

(6)  The  wear  on  the  front  or  charging  side  is  the  same  as  on 
any  other  furnace,  and  there  is  the  same  liability  to  form  holes 
along  the  slag  line,  but  in  the  Campbell  type  such  a  hole  is  seldom 
a  serious  matter,  for  while  the  charge  is  in  the  furnace,  and  without 
interrupting  the  operation,  the  hearth  may  be  tilted,  the  hole  drained 
dry,  filled  with  bottom  material  and  set  in  the  usual  manner,  after 
which  the  furnace  may  be  returned  to  its  proper  position  with  prac- 
tically a  new  bottom.     Such  repairs  would  be  impossible  with  the 
Wellman  type. 

(7)  The  most  important  advantages  arising  from  the  ability  to 
tip  the  furnace  without  altering  the  flame  comes  in  the  use  of 


142  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

large  quantities  of  pig-iron.  At  Steelton  we  have  antedated  all 
others  in  America  in  the  regular  use  both  of  melted  and  cold  pig- 
iron  as  the  full  charge  in  a  basic  furnace,  for  we  began  using  melted 
pig-iron  directly  from  the  blast  furnace  in  1891,  it  being  recognized 
at  the  time  that  we  were  merely  repeating  what  had  been  done  a 
generation  ago  across  the  water.  Three  }Tears  later  we  ran  two  or 
more  50-ton  furnaces  on  cold  pig-iron  without  scrap,  and  from  time 
to  time,  as  the  limited  supply  of  iron  for  distribution  to  the  Besse- 
mer and  open  hearth  would  allow,  we  used  the  iron  in  a  melted 
state.  It  was  from  about  1896  that  melted  iron  was  regularly  and 
continuously  taken  from  the  blast  furnaces  to  the  open-hearth  plant, 
from  two  to  four  50-ton  furnaces  having  been  run  regularly  in  that 
manner  from  then  until  now. 

This  has  been  done  before,  and  is  done  elsewhere,  but  it  is  be- 
lieved that  nowhere  else  has  iron  been  worked  directly  from  the 
blast  furnace  without  the  use  of  a  receiver,  with  silicon  varying 
from  0.50  up  to  3  per  cent,  and  with  no  prohibitory  trouble  from 
frothing  or  from  loss  of  time.  This  trouble  is  avoided  by  the  ability 
to  tip  the  furnace  and  prevent  the  metal  and  slag  from  flowing  out 
of  the  doors  on  the  front  side,  there  being  no  doors  on  the  tap-hole 
side,  the  excess  of  slag  being  provided  for  by  holes  left  in  the  bottom 
of  the  port  opening.  Any  hole  or  runner  in  a  door  or  in  the  side  of 
the  furnace  gives  trouble  from  the  chilling  of  the  slag  if  the  stream 
is  small,  and  if  the  stream  is  large  there  is  pretty  certain  to  be 
some  metal  lost  through  the  opening,  but  .by  having  the  opening  lo- 
cated in  the  port,  at  the  joint  between  the  fixed  end  and  the  rotating 
portion,  the  opening  is  exposed  continually  to  the  flame  passing 
over  it  in  either  direction  and  the  slag  has  no  chance  to  cool.  If 
it  should  solidify,  the  crust  can  be  broken  by  moving  the  furnace  in 
either  direction,  thereby  tearing  apart  the  slag  and  starting  the 
stream  again.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  the  practice  has  been  car- 
ried on  at  Steelton,  and  the  melters  soon  learned  without  in- 
structions to  keep  the  furnaces  partly  tipped  over  throughout  the 
whole  period  of  the  violent  frothing,  thereby  rendering  possible 
the  rapid  addition  of  ore. 

(8)  In  an  article  on  tilting  furnaces  by  A.  P.  Head*  he  states 
that  one  of  the  objections  to  tilting  furnaces  is  this : 

"The  inlet  of  cold  air  during  pouring  tends  to  oxidize  the  man- 

*  Journal  I.  and  8.,  Vol.  1899. 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


143 


ganese,  which  must  be  made  up  for  by  further  additions  in  the 
molds." 

The  objection  is  his  own,  made  after  a  study  of  the  Ensley  plant 
of  Wellman  furnaces,  and  does  not  in  any  way  apply  to  the  original 
type. 

i  n 


FIG.  VIII-G. — WELLMAN  CHARGING  MACHINE. 

SEC.  Vllle. — Charging. — The  use  of  charging  machines  is  now 
almost  universal  in  America;  one  of  the  most  common  types  is 


144  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

shown  in  Fig.  VIIL-G.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  large  works  to  have 
one  or  more  furnaces  so  arranged  that  the  entire  top  of  the  fur- 
nace is  removable,  thus  giving  an  opportunity  to  dispose  of  heavy 
sculls  and  pieces  that  cannot  easily  be  broken,  but  the  furnace  cools 
so  much  during  this  process  of  taking  off  the  roof  that  considerably 
more  fuel  is  used  than  in  the  ordinary  types,  and  the  roof  does  not 
last  as  long,  owing  to  the  severe  strains  in  cooling  and  heating. 

SEC.  VHIf. — Ports. — The  working  of  the  furnace  depends  very 
much  upon  the  arrangement  of  the  ports  through  which  the  gases 
come  and  go.  The  gas  should  enter  below  the  air,  because,  being 
lighter,  mixture  is  facilitated,  and  because  this  arrangement  does 
not  expose  the  metal  on  the  hearth  to  a  stratum  of  hot  air  and 
cause  excessive  oxidation.  The  point  where  the  two  gases  meet 
should  be  about  five  feet  from  the  metal;  if  much  less  than  this,, 
combustion  can  hardly  begin  before  it  is  checked  by  contact  with 
the  cold  stock;  if  much  more,  and  if  the  burning  mixture  is  con- 
ducted between  confining  walls,  the  brickwork  will  be  melted. 
Both  gas  and  air  should  enter  the  combustion  chamber  under  a 
positive  pressure,  forcing  them  into  contact  with  each  other  and 
throwing  the  resultant  flame  across  the  furnace  in  such  a  way  that 
the  draught  of  the  stack  on  the  outgoing  end  can  pull  it  down 
through  the  ports  without  its  impinging  upon  the  roof.  A  prevalent 
idea  among  furnacemen  is  that  the  draught  of  the  stack  pulls  the 
gases  into  the  furnace;  but  this  is  entirely  wrong.  They  are  not 
pulled;  they  are  pushed  in  by  the  upward  force  of  the  white-hot 
vertical  port  on  the  incoming  end,  and  where  this  force  is  not  suffi- 
cient, as  in,  horizontal  chambers,  a  blower  should  be  used  as  an 
auxiliary. 

The  figures  in  Sec.  VIIIc  will  show  the  different  ways  in  which 
the  port  question  has  been  answered.  In  Fig.  VIII-C  the  portion 
of  the  construction  next  to  the  furnace  is  a  removable  cage  con- 
taining the  arch  that  divides  the  gas  and  air.  When  this  arch  is 
worn  back  this  section  can  be  removed  by  a  crane  and  replaced  by 
a  new  one,  the  whole  operation  not  taking  over  one  hour,  and  not 
interrupting  the  operation  of  the  furnace.  This  system  is  the  de- 
vice of  C.  E.  Stafford.  The  drawing  of  the  furnace  at  Duquesne 
shows  how  simple  the  problem  becomes  when  natural  gas  is  used. 

SEC.  Vlllg. — Valves. — The  amount  of  gas  and  air  admitted  to 
the  chambers  is  regulated  by  some  form  of  throttle  valve.  Eevers- 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


145 


ing  apparatus  is  also  necessary,  since  the  course  of  the  currents 
must  be  changed  at  least  twice  every  hour.  For  this  purpose  the 
ordinary  butterfly  valve  is  in  common  use.  Its  simplicity,  the  ease 
with  which  it  is  manipulated,  the  small  space  it  occupies,  and  its 
small  first  cost,  have  led  to  its  general  adoption  and  to  a  general  un- 
willingness to  recognize  its  irremediable  defects.  It  is  exposed  on 


FIG.  VIII-H. — EEVERSING  VALVES  AT  STEELTON. 

Vertical  Section  Through  Gas  Reversing  Valve. 

C,  stack ;  D,  main  gas  tube ;  E,  E,  branch  gas  tube,  showing  valve ;  F,F,  gas  cham- 
bers; JB",  H.  gas  chamber  flues  to  reversing  valve;  /,  stack  reversing  valve  for  gas;  £., 
stack  damper  for  gas ;  M,  valve  reversing  track  and  buggy ;  2V,  2V,  water-cooled  valve 
seats :  P,  P,  air  chambers. 

one  side  to  the  incoming  gases,  and  on  the  other  to  the  products  of 
combustion.  It  will  sometimes  happen  that  these  waste  gases  are 
red  hot,  and  the  inevitable  result  is  a  warping  of  the  valve  or  box, 
and  a  leak  from  the  gas  main  into  the  chimney.  There  is  no  ad- 
justment possible,  and  the  only  remedy  is  to  replace  the  whole 
outfit. 

Fig.  VIII-H  shows  a  system  of  valves  which  has  been  used  at 
Steelton  with  good  results  for  a  number  of  years,  whereby  the  gas 


146 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


inlet  valve  and  the  reversing  valve  are  separate  and  the  inlet  valve 
is  removed  from  all  exposure  to  heat.  This  system  was  devised 
more  especially  for  oil  gas  or  where  crude  oil  was  the  fuel,  since 
under  these  conditions  it  is  necessary  that  the  chambers  at  the  outer 
end  should  be  at  a  high  temperature  in  order  to  maintain  the  oil 
in  a  state  of  vapor.  This  necessitates  a  high  temperature  through- 
out the  whole  length  of  the  chamber  and  an  ordinary  valve  will 
not  stand  this  temperature  without  excessive  leakage  and  warping. 


FIG.  VIII-H. — REVERSING  VALVES  AT  STEELTON. 

Horizontal  Section. 

A,  air  inlet ;  fl,  B,  air  chambers ;  C,  stack  ;  Z>,  air  reversing  valve ;  E,  E,  gas  inlets ; 
F,  F,  gas  chambers:  H,  stack  damper  for  air;  /,  stack  reversing  valve  for  gas;  K,  flue 
from  reversing  valve  to  stack ;  L.  stack  damper  for  gas ;  N,  X,  water-cooled  valve  seats 

Such  a  complicated  arrangement  is  not  necessary  with  coal  gas  if 
the  chambers  are  of  sufficient  capacity.  A  perfect  valve  should  not 
warp  if  it  gets  hot,  and  should  not  leak  if  coated  with  tar  or  soot, 
and  should  not  shut  up  by  an  accumulation  of  soot.  No  valve  fills 
all  these  conditions,  but  Fig.  VIII-I  shows  a  Forter  valve,  which  is, 
perhaps,  as  good  as*  any  in  being  easily  manipulated  and  simple  in 
construction.  It  is  open  to  the  objection  that  the  gas  is  exposed 
to  water  and  carries  a  great  deal  of  steam  into  the  furnace. 

SEC.  Vlllh. — Regulation  of  the  temperature. — The  temperature 
of  the  interior  of  the  furnace  and  of  the  metal  is  estimated  by  the 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


14' 


^1  ^ 

*  f^-          «fc.    - 


1 


M 
P 

I 

- 


148  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

eye,  deep-blue  glasses  being  used  as  a  protection  from  the  intense 
glare.  I  have  elsewhere*  shown  that  the  practiced  eye  can  detect 
a  difference  of  13°  C.  in  the  temperature  of  Bessemer  charges,  and 
this  may  also  be  taken  as  the  skill  to  which  many  open-hearth 
melters  attain.  The  intense  heat  of  a  regenerative  furnace  is  made 
possible  by  the  preheating  of  the  gas  and  air  in  chambers  which 
have  been  warmed  by  the  products  of  combustion,  these  chambers 
being  alternately  heated  by  currents  traveling  from  the  furnace  to 
the  valves,  and  cooled  by  currents  going  from  the  valves  to  the 
furnace.  If  the  currents  were  not  reversed,  the  chambers  on  the 
outgoing  end  would  be  heated  uniformly  throughout  their  length 
to  about  the  temperature  of  the  furnace,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
the  chambers  on  the  incoming  end  would  be  cooled  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  incoming  gases.  By  the  reversal  of  the  currents  there 
is  a  continual  conflict  between  these  extremes,  so  that  the  ends 
next  the  melting  chamber  are  at  a  bright  yellow  heat,  and  the  ends 
next  the  valves  are  about  200°  F.  (say  100°  C.)  above  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  incoming  gases. 

Air  always  enters  cold,  but  it  is  believed  by  some  furnacemen 
that  it  is  economical  to  have  the  gas  as  hot  as  possible.  To  some 
extent  this  is  an  error,  for  the  checkers  in  the  outer  end  of  the  gas 
chamber  cannot  be  cooled  below  the  temperature  of  the  entering 
gas,  and  the  products  of  combustion  cannot  be  cooled  below  the  tem- 
perature of  these  checkers,  so  that  the  heat  carried  in  by  hotter  fuel 
is  carried  out  by  hotter  waste  gases,  and  no  economy  is  obtained. 
With  hot  gas,  however,  it  is  not  necessary  to  pass  such  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  products  of  combustion  through  the  gas  chambers, 
and  an  extra  amount  may  be  diverted  to  the  air  chambers,  where 
the  heat  may  be  used  to  advantage.  This  gain  may  be  important 
when  the  coal  contains  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  denser  hydro- 
carbons, for  under  these  conditions  the  gas  leaves  the  producer  at 
a  high  temperature ;  but  when  the  coal  is  very  rich  the  gas  is  at  a  low 
temperature  when  it  comes  from  the  fire,  and  the  gain  from  its 
immediate  use  may  be  inappreciable.  It  is  true  that  all  the  tar  is 
utilized  when  hot  gas  is  used,  but  this  represents  only  a  small  part 
of  the  total  calorific  development. 

SEC.   Vllli. — Calorific   equation   of  an   open-hearth  furnace. — 

*  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  392.    See  also  certain 
remarks  in  Sec.  Vli. 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


149 


Several  years  ago  I  published  an  investigation  into  the  calorific  bal- 
ance of  an  open-hearth  furnace.*  Quite  recently  other  experiments 
have  been  conducted  by  von  Jiiptner,f  and  as  our  results  did  not 
agree,  I  have  made  a  new  determination.  There  are  at  Steelton 
two  acid-lined  50-ton  furnaces,  running  on  a  coal  consumption  of 
500  pounds  per  ton  of  steel.  Deducting  for  idle  time  leaves  440 
pounds  (200  kg.)  for  heating  and  melting.  The  heat  from  in- 
ternal combustion  is  shown  by  the  following  comparison  of  the  data 
given  by  von  Jiiptner  and  the  old  experiment  at  Steelton: 


Element 
oxidized. 

Per  cent,  of  total  charge. 

Jtlptner. 

Steelton. 

Si 
Mn 
C 
Fe 

0.48 
1.23 
1.08 
2.24 

0.41 

0.88 
0.95 
0.98 

According  to  Jiiptner  the  value  of  this  combustion  was  169,560 
calories  per  ton  of  steel,  while  at  Steelton  it  was  143,000  calories, 
the  difference  being  due  to  the  greater  loss  of  iron  in  the  first  case. 
In  the  new  experiment  it  will  be  assumed  that  internal  combus- 
tion produces  155,000  calories  per  ton. 

The  total  energy  of  coal  and  stock  is  dissipated  in  many  ways : 

(1)  Lost  in  unburned  carbon  in  producer  ash. 

(2)  Absorbed  in  internal  reactions  in  the  producer. 

(3)  Lost  as  sensible  heat  in  producer  gases. 

(4)  Absorbed  by  the  metal  in  heating  and  melting. 

(5)  Lost  as  sensible  heat  in  waste  gases  from  furnace. 

(6)  Lost  in  excess  air  from  furnace. 

(7)  Lost  in  unburned  hydrogen  and  carbonic  oxide. 

(8)  Lost  by  radiation  and  conduction. 

Some  of  these  losses  are  without  compensation,  such  as  the  carbon 
in  the  ash  and  the  radiation ;  some  are  useful,  such  as  the  absorption 
by  internal  reactions;  some  are  utilizations,  like  the  absorption  of 
heat  in  melting.  In  order  to  find  the  proportion  of  energy  utilized 

*  The  Physical  and  Chemical  Equations  of  the  Open-Hearth  Process,  Trans.  A.  I.  M. 
F.,  Vol.  XIX. 

t  Chemisch-Calorische  Untersuchungen  uber  Generatoren  und  Martinofen  von  Hanns 
v.  Jiiptner  und  Friederich  Toldt. 


150  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

it  is  necessary  to  know  the  amount  theoretically  required.  Accord- 
ing to  von  Jiiptner  the  heating  and  melting  of  the  stock  calls  for 
328,250  calories  per  ton;  in  the  former  experiment  I  had  called  it 
290,000  calories.  Taking  an  average  of  the  two  gives  about  310,000 
calories,  which  will  be  the  figure  used  in  the  new  work.  Tables 
VIII- A,  B  and  C  show  the  detailed  calculation,  the  methods  being 
as  follows: 

The  carbon  of  the  fuel  minus  the  carbon  in  the  ash  gives  the 
total  carbon  in  the  gas.  Total  carbon  in  the  gas  divided  by  the 
carbon  in  one  cubic  meter  gives  the  volume  of  gas  produced.  Car- 
bon in  one  cubic  meter  is  found  from  the  principle  that  one  cubic 
meter  of  either  CO,  C02,  or  CH4  contains  0.54  kg.  of  carbon; 
C2H4  contains  twice  that  weight.  The  calorific  value  of  the  gas 
is  found  by  multiplying  the  volume  of  each  combustible  ingredient 
by  the  calorific  power  of  one  cubic  meter  of  the  combustible  gas, 
and  adding  the  products.  The  products  of  the  dry  distillation  of 
the  coal  are  taken  from  results  on  a  similar  coal  at  the  beginning 
of  distillation,  coked  in  Semet-Solvay  coke  ovens,  as  reported  by 
Prof.  H.  0.  Hofman.  The  volume  of  CH4  and  C2H4  in  the  gases 
may  be  assumed  as  coming  all  from  this  distillation;  the  volume 
of  H  gas  distilled  off  is  a  little  less  than  the  CH4.  The  volume 
of  CO  and  C02  in  the  total  gases,  minus  that  coming  from  the 
distillation,  gives  the  CO  and  C02  formed  by  combustion  in  the 
producer.  The  total  volume  of  free  hydrogen  produced,  minus  that 
coming  from  the  distillation,  gives  the  free  hydrogen  liberated  in 
the  producer  by  the  decomposition  of  steam.  The  total  weight  of 
h}'drogen  in  the  gas  in  every  form  (CH4,  C2H4,  H  and  H20) 
minus  the  weight  of  hydrogen  in  the  coal  in  any  form  (assumed  as 
4  per  cent,  in  the  dried  coal  and  0.5  per  cent,  present  as  hygro- 
scopic water)  gives  the  hydrogen  which  must  have  come  in  with 
the  blast.  Assuming  average  humidity  of  the  air,  the  weight  of 
hydrogen  present  in  it  as  moisture  is  calculated;  the  difference 
between  this  and  the  total  hydrogen  of  the  blast  is  the  hydrogen 
coming  in  from  the  steam  jet,  whence  the  weight  of  steam  blown  in. 

The  heat  created  in  the  producer  is  from  formation  of  CO  and 
C02.  Some  of  this  is  rendered  latent  by  being  absorbed  in  the 
decomposition  of  H20  in  the  blast.  This  heat  reappears  in  the  open 
hearth  when  the  gases  are  burnt;  it  is  part  of  their  calorific  power. 
The  rest  of  the  heat  created  in  the  producer  is  lost  as  sensible  heat 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE.  151 

in  the  hot  gases  or  by  radiation  and  conduction.  These  losses  are 
definite  losses.  The  total  calorific  power  of  the  coal  is  the  calorific 
power  of  the  gases  produced,  plus  the  definite  losses  of  heat  from 
the  producer,  as  just  defined.  The  proportion  these  losses  bear  to 
the  total  calorific  power  of  the  coal  is  the  percentage  of  producer 
loss. 

Von  Jiiptner  used  no  steam  jet,  and  therefore  had  little  decom- 
position of  steam  in  his  producer.  He,  however,  calculates  the  total 
calorific  value  of  the  coal  by  adding  together  the  calorific  power 
of  the  gases  and  the  total  heat  created  in  the  producer,  including, 
moreover,  in  the  latter  item  the  heat  of  combustion  of  the  hydro- 
gen of  the  coal  which  goes  into  the  gases  as  water.  Aside  from  the 
fact  that  he  uses  the  calorific  power  of  hydrogen  to  liquid  water, 
wrongly  including  the  irrecoverable  heat  of  vaporization  of  steam, 
the  above  calculation  of  the  total  calorific  power  of  the  coal  con- 
tains two  erroneous  items,  viz.:  (1)  any  heat  rendered  latent  in 
the  producer  by  decomposition  of  steam  is  counted  twice,  once 
in  the  heat  developed  in  the  producer,  and  the  second  time  in  the 
calorific  power  of  the  gas.  This  item  is  small  in  this  particular 
case,  but  is  considerable  in  the  Steelton  producers.  (2)  Including 
the  heat  of  formation  of  the  water  in  the  gas  coming  from  the  com- 
bination of  hydrogen  of  the  coal  with  oxygen  in  the  coal  is  prac- 
tically assuming  that  all  the  H  of  the  coal  is  free  to  burn,  and 
neglects  the  principle  of  "available  hydrogen"  or  "hydrogen  free  to 
burn."  The  calorific  power  of  the  coal  is  thus  increased  by  this 
quantity  more  than  the  power  of  the  coal  can  really  be,  and  the 
surplus  thus  found  above  the  experimentally  ascertained  calorific 
power  of  the  coal  is  called  by  von  Jiiptner  the  "heat  of  gasification" 
(Vergasungswarme)  of  the  coal.  This  is  entirely  a  hypothetical 
quantity  which  has  no  place  in  the  calculations  in  theory  and  no 
existence  in  practice. 

Von  Jiiptner  is  also  in  error  in  using  0°  C.  as  a  basis,  for  this 
is  an  arbitrary  point  having  no  relation  to  the  problem.  It  would 
be  as  logical  to  use  — 10.000°  C.,  but  if  we  did  so  the  heat  brought 
into  the  furnace  by  gas  and  air  and  stock  would  be  in  excess  of  the 
heat  produced  by  combustion — an  answer  quite  correct  theoreti- 
cally, but  absurd  practically.  The  proper  datum  is  the  average  tem- 
perature of  the  stock,  gas  and  air  entering  the  valves. 

The  working  of  the  producer  is  shown  in  Table  VIII-C.     Von 


152  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Jiiptner  loses  25.9  per  cent,  in  producer  ash  against  2.1  per  cent,  at 
Steelton.  Of  the  74.1  per  cent,  actually  utilized,  von  Jiiptner  gets 
50.7  per  cent,  potential  in  the  gas,  or  only  68  per  cent,  of  the  po- 
tential of  the  coal  consumed.  But  of  the  97.8  per  cent,  utilized  at 
Steelton  78.4  per  cent,  is  potential  in  the  gas,  or  80  per  cent,  of  the 
potential  of  the  coal.  The  Steelton  practice  is,  therefore,  26.7  per 
cent,  better  in  burning  the  coal  and  10  per  cent,  better  in  utilizing 
the  combustion  for  the  making  of  gas.  The  former  advantage  is 
due  to  better  construction  and  operation;  the  latter  to  the  steam 
jet,  which  transfers  10  per  cent,  of  the  energy  in  the  coal  from 
the  producer  to  the  furnace. 

The  following  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  the  tables : 

(1)  A  producer  demands  one-quarter  to  one-fifth  of  all  the  heat 
value  ,of  the  coal,  delivering  the  remainder  as  potential  in  the  gas. 

(2)  If  the  loss  of  coal  in  the  ash  is  very  high,  the  gas  may 
contain  less  than  half  the  value  of  the  coal. 

(3)  The  heat  produced  by  the  combustion  of  the  silicon,  carbon 
and  iron  of  the  bath  is  one-seventh  as  much  as  is  supplied  by  the 
combustion  of  the  gas. 

(4)  The  heat  from  the  combustion  of  the  metalloids  and  of  the 
iron  is  one-half  the  quantity  necessary  to  heat  and  melt  the  charge. 

(5)  The  distribution  of  heat  in  the  open-hearth  furnace  must 
be  calculated  in  percentages  of  the  sum  o'f  the  heat  supplied  by  the 
gas  plus  the  heat  supplied  by  internal  combustion. 

(6)  About  one-half  of  all  the  heat  supplied  to  an  open-hearth 
furnace  is  lost  by  radiation  and  conduction. 

(7)  About  one-quarter  of  the  heat  is  lost  in  the  waste  gases 
going  to  the  chimney. 

(8)  About  one-quarter  of  the  heat  is  utilized  in  heating  and 
melting  the  stock. 

These  conclusions  are  founded  on  experiments  where  the  coal 
consumption  throughout  the  month  was  500  pounds  per  gross  ton 
of  steel  ingots.  Where  the  coal  consumption  is  higher,  the  per- 
centage of  heat  utilized  will  be  less,  and  the  amount  lost  by  radia- 
tion and  in  waste  gases  will  be  greater.  The  total  loss  in  waste 
gases  at  Steelton  was  23.4  per  cent,  of  the  total  value  of  the  coal, 
and  the  gases  escaped  to  the  stack  at  an  average  temperature  of 
680°,  this  average  being  based  on  an  estimate  of  the  proportional 
amount  escaping  from  the  two  chambers,  the  temperature  of  each 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE.  153 

having  been  determined.  The  average  temperature  of  the  gas  and 
air  was  280°  C.,  so  that  there  was  a  loss  of  23  per  cent,  for  400°  C., 
or  6  per  cent,  for  each  100°  C.,  so  that  an  increase  in  the  cubical 
content  of  the  regenerative  chambers,  sufficient  to  reduce  the  tem- 
perature of  the  waste  gases  100°  C.,  will  effect  a  saving  of  6  per 
cent.,  and  after  allowing  for  the  gain  in  heat  from  the  metalloids 
and  the  loss  of  heat  in  the  producer,  this  will  be  a  saving  of  from 
25  to  45  pounds  of  coal  per  ton,  depending  on  the  fuel  economy  of 
the  furnace.  The  loss  from  radiation  and  conduction  is  twice  the 
loss  in  the  escaping  gases,  but  this  item  includes  all  the  experi- 
mental errors. 

HEAT  OF   COMBUSTION   OF   FUELS. 

Per  molecular  weight.  Per  kilo.          Per  c.  m. 

C  to  CO  ..........................     29,400  2,450 

C  to  CO2  .........................     97,600  8,133 

CO  to  CO2  ........................     68,200  2,436                  3,069 

H  to  vapor  H20  ..................     58,080  29,040                  2,614 

CH*  to  CO2  and  H2O  gas  ...........  191,560  11,970                  8,620 

CzH.4.  to  CO2  and  H2O  gas  ..........  319,260  11,400                14,367 

Si  to  Si02  ........................  180,000  6,430 

Fe  to  FeO  ........................     65,700  1,173 

Fe  to  Fe2Q3  .......................  195,600  1,746 

Physical  constants  used  in  the  calculations: 

Weight  of  1  c.  m.  H  gas  (at  0°  and  760  m.  m.)  0.09  kg. 

Weight  of  1  c.  m.  any  other  gas=0.09  kg.xl/2  its  molecular  weight. 

Weight  of  C  in  1  c.  m.  of  CO,  CO2,CH*=0.54  kg. 

Mean  specific  heat  of  1  c.  m.  from  0°  to  t°  C. 

CO,  H,  N  or  O         0.306+0.000027  t 
CO»  0.374+0.00027  1 

HzO  0.342+0.00015  1 

CH4  0.418+0.00024  1 

0.424+0.00052  1 


TABLE  VIII-A. 
Distribution  of  Efeat  in  the  Producer. 

Coal  per  ton  of  steel  produced,  pounds  ...................  440 

Coal  per  ton  of  steel  produced,  kilogrammes  .............          200 

Carbon  in  coal,  per  cent  ..................................  75.68 

Carbon  in  200  kg.  coal,  kg  ...............................          151.36 

Ash  in  coal,  per  cent  .................................... 

Carbon  in  producer  ash,  per  cent,  of  ash  .................  21.07 

Carbon  in  producer  ash,  per  cent,  of  coal  ................  1.90 

Heat  value  of  carbon  in  ash  per  200  kg.  coal,  calories  ----      30,700 

Producer  gas:  composition  by  volume,  per  cent,  (dry  gas) 

CO2,  5.7;  CO,  22.0;  CH«,  2.6;  C^*,  0.6;  H,  10.5;  O,  0.4; 

N,  58.2. 


154  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Steam  accompanying  1  c.  m.  gas  (determined)  c.  m 0.0375 

Calorific  value  per  cubic  metre,  calories 1260 

Carbon  in  one  cubic  metre  dry  gas,  kg 0.1689 

Carbon  in  gas  per  kg.  of  coal  (0.7568 — 0.0190)  kg 0.7374 

Volume  of  gas  per  kg.  of  coal  (0.7378^-0.1689)  c.  m.  (dry)  4.37 

Volume  of  dry  gas  per  200  kg.  coal,  c.  m 874 

Calorific  value  of  gas  per  200  kg.  of  coal,  calories 1,101,240 

Products  of  dry  distillation  of  1  kg.  coal  (assumed). 

COa  0.026  kg.=0.013  c.  m. 
CO  0.027  kg.=0.022  c.  m. 
CH*  0.082  kg.=0.114  c.  m. 
CaH*  0.033  kg.=0.026  c.  m. 
H  0.0098  kg.=0.109  c.  m. 

Volume  of  COa  in  gas  per  kg.  of  coal  (0.057x4.37)  c.  m...  0.249 

Volume  of  COa  from  distillation  of  1  kg.  coal,  c.  m 0.013 

Volume  of  COa  produced  by  combustion,  per  kg.  coal,  c.  m.  0.236 
Volume  of  COa  produced  by  combustion  per  200  kg.  coal, 

c.  m 47.2 

Heat  of  formation  of  47.2  c.  m.  COa  calories 207,300 

Volume  of  CO  in  gas  per  kg.  of  coal  (0.22x4.37)  c.  m 0.961 

Volume  of  CO  from  distillation  of  1  kg.  coal,  c.  m 0.022 

Volume  of  CO  produced  by  combustion,  per  kg.  coal,  c.  m.  0.939 
Volume  of  CO  produced  by  combustion  per  200  kg.  coal, 

c.  m 187.8 

Heat  of  formation  of  187.8  c.  m.  CO.  calories 248,460 

Total  heat  created  in  producer  per  200  kg.  coal,  calories..  455,760 

Temperature  of  gas  leaving  the  producer,  degrees  Cent...  655 

Mean  specific  heat  of  dry  gas  (20°  to  655°)   (calculated) . .  0.3468 
Sensible  heat  in  dry  gases  per  200  kg.  coal  (874x. 3468x635)  =192,470 

Mean  specific  heat  of  steam  (20°  to  655°) 0.443 

Sensible  heat  in  steam  per  200  kg.  coal  (0.0375x874x0.443 

X635) =9280 

Total  sensible  heat  in  gas  and  steam  per  200  kg.  coal  calo- 
ries    201,750 

Volume  of  free  H  in  gas  per  kg.  of  coal  (0.105x4.37)  c.  m.  0.459 

Volume  of  free  H  from  distillation  of  1  kg.  coal,  c.  m 0.109 

Volume  of  free  H  from  decomposition  of  HaO  in  producer, 

c.   m 0.35 

Volume  of  free  H  from  decomposition  of  HaO  per  200  kg. 

coal,  c.  m 70 

Weight  of  H  liberated  from  H2O  per  200  kg.  coal,  kg 6.3 

Heat  thus  absorbed  in  decomposing  steam,  calories 182,700 

Total  weight  H  in  1  c.  m.  gas,  including  steam,  kg 0.0186 

Weight  H  in  gas  per  200  kg.  coal,  kg.  (0.0186x874) 16 

Weight  H  in  200  kg.  coal  (200x0.045),  kg 9 

Weight  H  coming  from  air  and  steam,  per  200  kg.  coal,  kg.  7 
Weight  HaO  coming  from  air  and  steam,  per  200  kg.  coal, 

kg 63 

Weight  H2O  coming  from  air  used,  at  average  conditions, 

kg 9.6 

Weight  steam  blown  in,  per  200  kg.  coal,  kg 53.4 

Weight  of  steam  decomposed  in  producer   (6.3x9),  kg...  56.7 

Deduct  moisture  of  air,  assumed  all  decomposed,  kg 9.6 

Steam  of  steam  jet  decomposed,  per  200  kg.  coal,  kg 47.1 

Percentage  of  steam  in  steam  jet  decomposed  (53-4) 88 


THE  OPEX-HEARTH   FURNACE. 


155 


Heat  generated  in  producer,  calories 455,760 

Heat  taken  out  of  producer  in  gas  and  steam 201,750 


Surplus  left  in  producer,  calories 254,010 

Absorbed  in  decomposing  steam  (rendered  latent)...    182,700 

Loss  by  radiation  and  conduction,  calories 71,310 

Summary  of  above  results  on  Producer  Practice,  per  200  kg.  coal. 

Calories. 

Lost  as  carbon  in  ash 30,700 

Lost  by  radiation  and  conduction 71,310 

Sensible  heat  of  hot  gas  and  steam 201,750 


Total  heat  loss  of  producer 303,760 

Calorific  power  of  producer  gas 1,101,240 


Total  heat  value  of  coal 1,405,000 

Per  cent,  lost  in  producer 21.6 


Losses  in  the  Producer  in  Percentage  of  the  Heat  Value  of  the  Coal. 


Calories. 

Lost  as  C  in  ash 30,700 

Radiation  and   conduction 71,310 

Sensible  heat  of  steam 9,280 

Sensible  hea,,  of  dry  gas 192,470 


303,760 


Per  cent,  of 

value  of 

coal. 

2.1 

5.1 


21.6 


Per  cent,  of 

total  producer 

loss. 

10.1 

23.5 

3.1 

63.3 

100.0 


66.4 


TABLE  VIII-B. 
Distribution  of  Heat  in  the  Furnace. 


C  in  gas  per  .kg.  of  coal,  kg 

C  in  gas  per  200  kg.  coal,  kg , 

C  in  1  c.  m.  (dry)  chimney  gas,  kg.  (0.127x0.54) 

Volume  (dry)  chimney  gas  per  200  kg.  coal,  c.  m 

Free  oxygen  present  in  this  gas  (2152x0.067),  c.  m... 

Excess  air  corresponding  to  free  oxygen,  c.  m 

CO2  in  chimney  gas  (2152x0.127),  c.  m 

N  in  chimney  gas  (2152x0.806),  c.  m 

N  in  excess  air  used,  c.  m 

N  in  theoretical  products  of  combustion,  c.  m 

N  in  producer  gas  per  200  kg.  coal  (874x0.582),  c.  m.. 
N  in  air  necessary  for  theoretical  combustion,  c.  m... 

Air  necessary  for  theoretical  combustion,  c.  m 

Excess  of  air  used,  percentage  680-J-872 

HaO  in  chimney  gas  (2152x0.078),  c.  m 


Heat  in  air  used,  at  280°,  Sm  (0°  to  280°)=0.314— 
Theoretical  air  needed  (872x0.314x280),  calories. 
Excess  air  used  (680x0.314x280),  calories 


0.7378 

147.56 

0.06858 
2152 

144 

699 

273 
1735 

536 
1199 

509 

690 

872 
78 

168 


76,650 
59,770 


Total,  calories  '. 136,420 


156  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Heat  in  producer  gases  used,  at  655° — 

Dry  gas  874  c.  m.   (874x0.347x655),  calories 92,650 

Steam  33  c.  m.   (33x0.440x655) 9,510 


Total,  calories   102,160 

Total  heat  brought  to  furnace,  not  available,  calories 238,580 

Heat  taken  out  in  chimney  gases,  at  680° — 

Dry,  theoretical  combustion   (1472x0.367x680),  calories...  367,750 

Steam  formed  (168x0.444x680),  calories 50,190 

Total  in  theoretical  products  of  combustion,  calories..  417,940 

In  excess  air  used  (680x0.324x680),  calories 149,820 

Total  in  the  chimney  gases,  calories 567,760 

Heat  brought  to  furnace  and  not  available,  calories 238,580 

Heat  loss  in  chimney  chargeable  against  furnace,  calories 329,180 

Proportion   of  chimney   loss  chargeable   against  furnace,  per 

cent 58 

Items  of  Chimney  Loss  Chargeable  Against  Furnace: 

Calories.  Per  cent. 

Dry  gases  from  theoretical  combustion 213,220  64.8 

Steam  from  theoretical  combustion 29,100  8.8 

Excess  air  used  86,860  26.4 


329,180  100.0 

Summary  of  Above  Results  on  Furnace  Practice  per  200  kg.  Coal 
=0ne  Ton  Steel. 

Calories. 

Potential  value  of  gas 1,101,240 

Combustion  of  metalloids 155,000 


Total  heat  available 1,256,240 

Sensible  Heat  in  Waste  Gases  Chargeable  Against  the  Furnace. 

Per  cent,  of 
available 
Calories.        energy. 

(a)  Dry,  theoretical  products  of  combustion 213,220  17.0 

(b)  Steam  of  theoretical  products  of  combustion.      29,100  2.3 

Total  in  the  theoretical  products  of  combustion. .    242,320  19.3 

(c)  Excess  air  used   86,860  6.9 

Total  in  entire  products  of  combustion 329,180  26.2 

Heating  and  melting  stock 310,000  24.7 

Radiation  and  conduction  (by  difference) 617,060  49.1 

Total,  as  above  .  ..1,256,240  100.0 


THE  OPEN-HEARTH  FURNACE. 


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CHAPTER  IX. 

FUEL. 

SECTION  IXa. — The  combustion  of  fuel. — A  full  definition  of  the 
word  "fuel"  would  involve  the  calorific  value  of  silicon,  manganese, 
phosphorus  and  iron,  but,  as  usually  understood,  the  term  embraces 
only  the  forms  of  carbon  known  as  charcoal  and .  anthracite  coal, 
and  combinations  of  carbon  and  hydrogen,  such  as  natural  gas, 
petroleum  and  bituminous  coal,  while  the  meaning  of  "combustion" 
is  narrowed  down  to  the  union  of  such  substances  with  oxygen. 
For  practical  purposes  it  may  be  considered  that  in  all  compounds 
of  hydrogen  and  carbon  there  is  an  isolation  of  each  element  just 
previous  to  union  with  oxygen,  so  that  the  molecular  history  may 
be  represented  by  the  following  equations: 

C+20=C02, 

1  kilo  C+2  2/3  kilos  0=3  2/3  kilos  C02, 
producing  8133  calories. 

CO-fO— C02, 
1  kilo  CO+4/7  kilo  0—1  4/7  kilos  C02, 

producing  2438  calories. 

1  cubic  meter  CO-fl/2  cubic  meter  0=1  cubic  meter  C02, 
producing  3072  calories. 

2  H+0=H20, 

1  kilo  H+8  kilos  0—9  kilos  H20, 
producing  34,500  calories,  including  latent  heat  in  steam. 

29,040  calories,  not  including  latent  heat  in  steam. 

1.  cubic  meter  H-f-1/2  cubic  meter  0=1  cubic  meter  H20, 

producing  2614  calories,  not  including  latent  heat  in  steam. 

C+0= CO, 

1  kilo  C+l  1/3  kilos  0—2  1/3  kilos  CO, 

producing  2450  calories. 

158 


FUEL. 


159 


The  above  equations  represent  the  combustion  of  carbon  and 
hydrogen  with  oxygen.  This  never  occurs  in  practice,  for  they  are 
burned  with  air,  which  is  a  mixture  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  the 
proportion  by  weight  being  23.2  oxygen  and  76.8  nitrogen,  and  by 
volume  20.9  oxygen  and  79.1  nitrogen;  so  that  the  products  of 
combustion  from  burning  coal  are  composed  in  great  part  of 
nitrogen.  The  products  from  hard  coal  and  soft  coal  vary  some- 
what, because  soft  coal  contains  about  5  per  cent,  of  hydrogen,  the 

TABLE  IX-A. 
Products  of  Combustion  of  Hard  and  Soft  Coal. 


Hard  Coal. 

Soft  Coal. 

Excess  Air. 

CO, 

O 

CO, 

O 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

No  excess. 

21.0 

0.0 

19.1 

0.0 

10 

19.1 

1.9 

17.3 

2.0 

20 

17.5 

3.5 

15.8 

3.6 

30 

16.1 

4.8 

14.5 

4.9 

40 

15.0 

6.0 

13.5 

6.1 

50 

14.0 

6.9 

12.6 

7.1 

60 

13.0 

7.8 

11.7 

8.0 

70 

12.3 

8.6 

11.0 

8.8 

80 

11.7 

9.3 

10.4 

9.5 

90 

11.1 

9.9 

9.9 

10.1 

100 

10.5 

10.5 

9.4 

10.6 

oxidization  of  which  produces  water,  and  ordinarily  in  taking  a 
sample  of  the  gases  this  water  is  condensed,  and  does  not  appear  in 
the  analysis.  In  order  to  burn  this  hydrogen  it  is  necessary  to 
supply  a  certain  quantity  of  air  which  carries  nitrogen,  so  that  the 
products  from  soft  coal  contain  a  slightly  higher  percentage  of 
nitrogen  and  a  slightly  lower  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  than  will 
be  obtained  from  hard  coal. 

Table  IX-A  shows  the  composition  of  the  products  of  combus- 
tion of  hard  and  soft  coal  when  burned  with  varying  amounts  of 
air.  The  first  line  gives  the  results  when  just  sufficient  air  is 
added  to  completely  burn  the  carbon  and  hydrogen  and  each  suc- 
ceeding line  shows  an  additional  20  per  cent,  of  air.  An  excess  is 
necessary  to  insure  complete  combustion,  the  amount  of  excess 
varying  with  the  conditions  under  which  the  coal  is  burned,  but 
it  is  seldom  possible  to  have  complete  combustion  with  less  than 
30  per  cent,  excess  air. 


160 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


Combustion  of  carbon  (coal)  with  no  excess  of  air: 
1  kg.  carbon+8.87  cu.  metres  air=l.S6  cu.  m.  C02+7.01  cu.  m.  N. 

Combustion  with  100  per  cent,  excess: 

1  kg.  carbon  +17.74  cu.  m.  air=1.86  cu.  m.  C02+ 14.02  cu.  m.  N 
+1.87  cu.  m.  0. 

The  equations  given  herewith  represent  the  volume  of  air  re- 
quired by  each  kg.  of  carbon  and  the  volume  of  the  products  caused 
by  the  combustion  under  two  different  conditions.  Excess  air 
means  a  considerable  loss  of  heatj  but  there  will  be  a  loss  in  the 
waste  gases  even  if  there  be  no  excess  of  air,,  for  the  products  of 
combustion  carry  off  a  great  deal  of  sensible  heat.  The  amount  so 
carried  will  depend  upon  the  temperature  of  the  waste  products, 
as  shown  in  Table  IX-B.  If  the  gases  from  a  coal-fired  boiler 


TABLE  IX-B. 
Loss  of  Heat  in  Products  of  Combustion  of  Hard  Coal. 


Temperature  of  gases  ;  degrees  Cent. 

100°  C. 
210°  F. 

200°  C. 
390°  F. 

300°  C. 
570°  F. 

400°  C. 
750°  F. 

600°  C. 
1110°  F. 

Specific  heat  of  waste  gases— 
jJo  excess  air. 

.328 
.327 
.324 
.322 
.320 
.318 

3.8 
4.5 
5.1 
5.8 
6.5 
7.2 

.336 
.334 
.331 
.328 
.326 
.324 

7.5 

8.9 
10.3 
11.7 
13.0 
14.4 

.344 
.341 
.338 
•335 
.332 
.329 

11.3 
13.4 
15.4 
17.5 
19.5 
21.6 

.352 

.348 
.345 
.341 
.338 
.334 

15.5 

18.4 
21.1 
23.9 
26.7 
29.5 

.367 
.363 
.358 
.354 
.349 
.345 

24.0 
28.3 
32.5 
36.8 
41.0 
45.3 

20  Der  cent  excess 

40.7.  

60  

80 

100  .... 

Per  cent,  of  heat  lost- 
No  excess  air  

20  per  cent,  excess 

40.7.. 

60.  . 

80... 

100  

escape  at  200°  C.,  390°  F.,  a  temperature  which  is  attainable,  the 
loss  in  sensible  heat  is  7.5  per  cent,  when  no  excess  air  is  present, 
but  if  100  per  cent,  of  excess  air  is  used  the  loss  will  be  14.4  per 
cent.  When  the  temperature  is  300°  C.,  570°  F.,  the  loss  with  100 
per  cent,  excess  air  is  21.6  per  cent,  and  with  400°  C.,  750°  F.,  it  is 
29.5  per  cent. 

SEC.  IXb. — Producers. — In  almost  all  metallurgical  operations 
where  gas  is  used  for  heating,  the  fuel  in  the  producer  is  bituminous 


FUEL. ' 


161 


coal ;  but  in  special  cases  anthracite  coal  is  used.  Soft  coal  is  con- 
verted into  gas  by  burning  it  in  a  thick  fire.  Air  is  blown  in  be- 
neath the  grate,  and  a  jet  of  steam  is  also  admitted  to  keep  down 


FIG.  IX-A. — WATER  SEAL  PRODUCER. 

the  temperature.  Within  the  last  few  years  the  water  seal  producer 
has  been  generally  adopted.  Many  different  forms  have  been  used, 
but  the  main  principles  of  the  construction  are  illustrated  in  Fig. 
IX-A.  The  space  below  the  water  level  is  full  of  ashes,  which  can 
be  removed  without  interfering  with  the  operation  of  the  producer. 
The  ashes  will  fill  the  room  for  one  or  two  feet  above  the  water  line. 
Above  this  will  be  glowing  carbon,  and  the  air  as  it  goes  up  forms 
carbonic  acid  (C02),  and  this  rising  through  the  bed  of  coal  ab- 
sorbs more  carbon  and  becomes  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  but  this  action 
is  never  complete,  and  some  carbonic  acid  passes  through  the  fire 
unchanged.  With  a  hot  deep  fire  free  from  cavities  the  gas  may 
contain  as  low  as  2.5  per  cent,  by  volume  of  C02,  but  if  the  fire 
be  thin  or  riddled  with  holes  there  may  be  as  much  as  10  per  cent. 
In  the  "zone  of  combustion"  the  steam  is  broken  up  by  the  carbon 
with  formation  of  hydrogen  and  carbonic  oxide,  but,  as  in  the  re- 
duction of  carbonic  acid,  this  reaction  is  never  perfect  and  some 
steam  goes  through  unaltered.  The  best  decomposition  is  attained 
in  a  hot  fire,  but  this  is  just  the  condition  that  is  not  desirable  on 
account  of  the  formation  of  clinkers.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
supply  of  steam  be  increased  indefinitely  the  fire  will  get  colder 


162  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

and  colder,  producing  no  gas  and  letting  steam  and  air  pass  through 
unconsumed.  There  is  a  mean  between  these  extremes  which  is  al- 
most forced  upon  the  operator,  wherein  the  fire  is  kept  at  a  constant 
temperature,  and  in  this  condition  there  is  not  much  increase  in 
hydrogen  from  the  steam,  while  a  little  steam  passes  away  with  the 
gases. 

In  the  upper  zone  of  the  fire,  the  volatile  hydrocarbons  of  the 
fuel  are  distilled  by  the  heat  beneath,  and  in  this  way  the  gaseous 
products  contain  a  certain  proportion  of  tarry  vapors,  part  of  which 
is  condensed  in  the  conducting  tubes.  The  zones  of  combustion  and 
distillation  are  not  separated  by  any  arbitrary  line,  but  some  of  the 
rich  components  of  the  coal  are  carried  down  into  the  body  of  the 
fire  and  exposed  to  a  high  temperature.  This  causes  the  separation 
of  carbon,  some  of  which  is  burned  with  the  coal,  while  the  rest  is 
carried  forward  into  the  conducting  tube.  When  the  fire  is  hot, 
large  volumes  of  soot  are  formed  in  this  way  and  give  trouble  in 
the  pipes,  but  when  cool  there  is  little  soot,  but  much  tar.  The 
worst  condition  is  when  holes  form  in  the  bed  of  coal.  This  allows 
air  to  come  through  and  burn  the  hydrocarbons  above  the  fire  with 
a  smoky  soot-producing  flame,  cakes  the  coal  into  an  unworkable 
mass,  and  increases  the  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  gas. 

In  Sec.  VHIi  were  discussed  certain  producer  experiments,  and 
the  gas  there  given  may  be  taken  as  representative  of  ordinary 
practice,  the  composition  being  as  follows: 

Per  cent. 
Siemens    Gas.  by  volume. 

C0a 5.7 

C2H, 0.6 

O 0.4 

CO 22.0 

H   10.5 

CH4    2.6 

N,  by  difference 58.2 

100.0 

Some  of  these  percentages,  notably  of  C02,  H,  and  CH4,  vary 
through  wide  ranges  according  to  the  condition  of  the  fire,  but  the 
nitrogen  will  always  be  about  60  per  cent.  This  component  re- 
mains passive  throughout  all  the  future  history  of  combustion,  but 
it  so  reduces  the  calorific  intensity  that  the  gas  is  applicable  only 
to  regenerative  furnaces. 

The  ordinary  methods  of  gas  analysis  fail  to  take  definite  account 


FUEL.  163 

of  any  save  true  gaseous  components,  but  in  the  products  of  a  soft- 
coal  fire  there  are  certain  amounts  of  soot  and  tar.  Some  of  these 
are  deposited  in  the  conduits,  hut  they  do  not  constitute  a  great 
part  of  the  total  energy.  In  the  case  of  an  exposed  7-foot  iron 
pipe,  250  feet  long,  the  condensation  of  tar  amounted  to  only  three- 
tenths  of  1  per  cent,  of  the  total  heat  value,*  while  the  gas  itself, 
after  passing  through  the  tube,  contained  a  proportion  that  repre- 
sented from  one-tenth  to  one-eighth  of  the  total  heating  power.  In 
spite  of  the  low  calorific  power  of  this  tar  it  is  found  that,  when  the 
suspended  matters  are  removed  by  scrubbing,  the  value  of  the  gas 
is  reduced  very  seriously,  for  the  tar  gives  luminosity  to  the  flame 
and  thereby  renders  it  able  to  heat  not  only  by  direct  impact,  but 
by  the  no  less  potent  action  of  radiation.  It  is  by  virtue  of  this 
quality  that  the  luminous  flames  from  the  dense  hydrocarbons  sur- 
pass the  clear  products  of  an  anthracite  fire. 

The  investigation  given  in  Sec.  VHIi  showed  that  the  losses  of 
energy  in  a  producer  as  operated  at  Steelton  were  as  follows : 

Lost  as  carbon  in  ash 2.1 

Sensible  heat  of  dry  gas 13.7 

Sensible  heat  of  steam  in  gas 0.7 

Radiation  and  conduction  (by  difference) 5.1 

Total 21.6 

The  total  shows  that  over  one-fifth  of  all  the  heat  value  of  the 
coal  is  lost.  The  figure  for  radiation  and  conduction  is  determined 
by  difference,  and  hence  bears  all  the  errors  in  the  determinations. 
The  other  items  offer  ground  for  discussion. 

(1)  The  carbon  in  the  ash. 

In  Sec.  VHIi  reference  was  made  to  experiments  by  von  Jiiptner 
in  which  the  loss  of  carbon  in  the  producer  ash  represented  20 
per  cent,  of  the  total  value  of  the  coal,  for  the  ash  from  the  pro- 
ducer contained  74  per  cent,  of  carbon  and  only  26  per  cent,  of  true 
ash.  Such  a  waste  is  entirely  unnecessary,  for  it  is  possible  to  run 
soft-coal  gas  producers  where  the  ash  contains  less  than  20  per  cent, 
of  carbon,  and  averages  from  12  to  18  per  cent.  It  is  possible  to 
estimate  very  closely  how  much  is  lost  if  we  know  the  percentage 
of  carbon  in  the  ash  and  the  percentage  of  ash  in  the  original  coal. 
The  latter  point  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  for  if  the  coal 

*  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXII.,  p.  376. 


164 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


contains  13  per  cent,  of  ash,  and  if  the  waste  from  the  producer 
contains  87  per  cent,  of  carbon,  it  would  show  that  no  work  had 
been  done  in  the  producer  and  that  there  was  100  per  cent,  waste, 

TABLE  IX-C. 
Value  Represented  by  Carbon  in  the  Ash. 


Ter  Cent,  of  Total  Heat  Value 
Lost. 

Per  Cent.  Ash  in  Coal. 

4 

7 

10 

13 

20  rer  cent.  C  in  ashes 
40       " 
50       " 
60       "           " 
70       •• 
80        " 
85       " 

1.5 
3.0 
4.0 
5.5 
8.0 
15.0 
20.0 

2.5 
5.5 
7.0 
10.0 
15.0 
25.0 

3.2 
7.0 
10.0 
14.5 
21.0 

4.0 
8.5 
13.0 
20.0 

but  if  the  coal  contained  only  4  per  cent,  ash  and  the  ashes  contained 
87  per  cent,  carbon,  it  would  show  that  only  30  per  cent,  of  the  coal 
had  been  wasted.  The  heat  value  represented  by  certain  percen- 
tages of  carbon  in  the  ashes  are  given  in  Table  IX-C.  With  a  coal 
of  7  per  cent,  ash  and  with  producer  ash  containing  less  than  20 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  loss  of  heat  value  is  less  than  2%  per  cent, 
of  the  value  of  the  coal,  which  is  a  radical  difference  from  the  loss 
mentioned  by  von  Jiiptner,  wherein  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  was 
thrown  away. 

(2)   Sensible  heat  in  gas  and  steam. 

The  sensible  heat  of  producer  gas  is  wholly  wasted,  for  in  a 
regenerative  furnace  the  gain  in  heat  on  the  incoming  end  is  bal- 
anced by  the  loss  in  hotter  outgoing  gases.  In  the  experiment  by 
von  Jiiptner,  the  average  temperature  of  the  producer  gas  in  four 
experiments  is  267°  C.  I  am  inclined  to  doubt  these  temperatures, 
for  von  Jiiptner's  loss  from  radiation  and  conduction  alone  was  as 
much  as  all  the  factors  in  the  Steelton  practice  combined,  while  the 
loss  from  sensible  heat  was  low,  on  account  of  the  low  temperature 
of  the  escaping  gases.  The  loss  by  radiation  was  determined  by 
difference,  and  a  cold  fire  should  not  give  as  much  loss  by  radiation 
as  a  hot  one,  so  that  possibly  von  Jiiptner  took  the  temperature  of 
the  gases  at  some  distance  from  the  producer  and  the  item  of 
radiation  included  part  of  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gas.  Under  this 


FUEL. 


165 


assumption  the  radiation  from  the  producer  becomes  more  nearly 
what  would  be  expected,  although  a  detailed  comparison  is  useless 
owing  to  the  confusing  way  in  which  von  Jiiptner  calculates  the 
hydrogen  on  the  basis  of  its  full  calorific  value,  including  the  latent 
heat  of  condensation.  This  has  already  been  referred  to  at  length 
in  Chapter  VIII. 

It  is  possible  that  the  fires  were  at  a  low  temperature  for  a  short 
time,  but  they  could  hardly  be  run  continuously  under  such  con- 
ditions. I  have  operated  a  fire  for  several  hours  at  a  black  heat,  but 
at  the  end  of  that  time  the  whole  top  of  the  fire  had  become  a  bed 
of  tar,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  do  any  poking,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  stop  charging  fresh  coal,  decrease  the  amount  of  steam  and 
allow  the  fire,  to  burn  up  and  break  up  the  tarry  matters. 

It  may  appear  at  first  sight  that  the  presence  of  carbonic  acid 
(C02)  in  the  gas  is  the  most  important  loss,  but  this  item  is  taken 
care  of  under  the  head  of  sensible  heat  and  under  radiation;  an 
excess  of  carbonic  acid  must  give  rise  to  heat  and  this  heat  must 
show  itself  somewhere.  If  it  is  used  to  dissociate  steam  then  it  is 
not  lost,  for  the  gas  will  be  enriched  by  the  hydrogen,  consequently 
it  is  not  entirely  right  to  assume  that  a  slight  increase  in  carbonic 
acid  means  poorer  practice.  The  gas  above  quoted  as  made  at 
Steelton  ran  as  follows: 


C02=5.7 


H=10.5 


If  less  steam  had  been  used  the  fire  would  have  been  hotter,  and  if 
properly  poked  would  have  shown  a  lower  percentage  of  C02;  but 
it  would  also  have  shown  a  lower  percentage  of  H,  so  that  nothing 
would  have  been  gained  in  the  calorific  value  of  the  gas,  and  the 
heat  value  of  the  coal  would  not  have  been  better  conserved. 


TABLE  IX-D. 
Value  Represented  by  C02  in  Gas. 

2  per  cent.  CO^=  5.3  per  cent,  loss 


3 
4 
5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


8.0 
10.8 
13.7 
16.6 
19.6 
23.0 
26.5 
30.0 


166  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Notwithstanding  that  a  higher  content  of  carbonic  acid  is  not 
conclusive  proof  of  bad  practice  under  usual  conditions  the  per- 
centage of  carbonic  acid  is  an  index  of  the  fuel  economy.  Table 
IX-D  shows  the  percentage  of  the  heat  value  of  the  coal  represented 
by  certain  proportions  of  C02  in  the  gas,  provided  that  the  heat 
produced  by  its  formation  is  not  utilized  in  the  decomposition  of 
steam.  In  ordinary  producer  practice  the  carbonic  acid  runs  from 
4  to  6  per  cent.,  indicating  a  loss  of  11  to  16  per  cent,  of  the  heat 
value  of  the  coal,  but  under  exceptionally  good  practice  the  gas  will 
carry  between  3  and  4  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid,  indicating  a  loss 
of  8  to  11  per  cent.,  thus  causing  a  saving  of  5  per  cent,  in  the 
amount  of  coal.  With  bad  practice  the  gas  may  contain  10  per 
cent,  of  carbonic  acid,  indicating  a  loss  of  30  per  cent,  of  the  heat 
value,  or  about  17  per  cent,  more  than  is  necessary,  the  amount  of 
coal  consumed  being  one-sixth  more  than  would  be  used  in  good 
practice.  A  high  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  may  be  detected  with- 
out the  aid  of  a  chemist,  for  it  is  bound  to  show  itself  in  a  hot  fire, 
and  the  sensible  heat  of  the  gases  is  not  only  the  result,  but  the 
measure  of  the  waste. 

Hard  coal  is  about  equal  to  soft  coal  when  used  for  firing  boilers, 
and  the  smaller  sizes  are  extensively  used  for  this  purpose.  They 
are  also  used  in  producers,  but  it  is  necessary  to  inject  steam  at  the 
grate  or  the  producer  becomes  unmanageably  hot.  The  steam  rots 
the  clinkers  and  cools  the  fire,  and  hydrogen  is  produced  as  in  the 
manufacture  of  water  gas.  The  gas  is  of  about  the  following 
composition : 

Per  cent, 
by  volume. 

CO    27.0 

H   12.0 

CH4+C2H4    1.2 

CO2 2.5 

N    57.3 

This  anthracite  gas  is  nearly  equal  in  producing  low  tempera- 
tures, such  as  firing  boilers  or  drying  ladles,  but  is  far  inferior  in 
creating  an  intense  heat,  even  when  regenerated;  probably  this  in- 
feriority lies  in  the  absence  of  the  suspended  volatilized  tarry  mat- 
ters, which  are  characteristic  of  soft-coal  gas.  These  components 
have  an  appreciable  heating  value,  but  their  main  function  is  to 
give  luminosity  to  the  flame,  and  to  increase  its  power  of  radiation. 


FUEL.  167 

SEC.  IXc. — Miscellaneous  fuels. — There  are  some  fuels  which 
are  essentially  local  in  their  character  like  natural  gas  and  oil,  but 
which  are  extensively  used  in  metallurgical  operations. 

(a)  Natural  gas: 

In  the  favored  district  lying  just  west  of  the  Alleghenies  in 
Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Ohio  and  Indiana,  natural  gas  has 
been  used  for  all  kinds  of  heating  from  about  1884  until  the  present 
time.  The  composition  varies  in  different  wells,  but  in  all  cases  the 
gas  is  made  up  of  members  of  the  paraffine  series,  with  not  over 
one-half  of  1  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid  (C02)  and  from  2  to  12 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen.  By  ultimate  analysis  it  gives  70  per  cent,  of 
carbon  and  23  per  cent,  of  hydrogen,  while,  by  ordinary  methods, 
it  shows  from  67  to  93  per  cent,  of  marsh  gas,  the  remainder  being 
principally  hydrogen.  At  first  this  gas  was  passed  through  regen- 
erative chambers,  but  this  was  discontinued  owing  to  the  deposition 
of  soot  and  to  the  discovery  that  sufficient  heat  was  obtained  by 
leading  the  gas  directly  to  the  ports  and  burning  it  with  air  which 
had  been  regenerated  in  the  usual  manner.  Of  late  years  the  sup- 
ply of  gas  has  been  decreasing  and  the  demand  has  been  met  by 
the  constant  drilling  of  new  wells  in  new  territory.  There  is  a  limit 
to  this  method,  and  it  would  seem  that  before  many  years  this  fuel 
will  cease  to  be  a  factor  in  the  larger  operations  of  a  steel  works. 

(b)  Petroleum: 

Crude  oil  may  be  transformed  into  a  vapor  by  atomizing  with 
steam  and  superheating  the  mixture,  but  unless  exposed  for  some 
time  to  a  yellow  heat  it  remains  a  vapor,  and  hence  will  condense  if 
carried  through  long,  uncovered  pipes  or  introduced  into  the  cold 
valves  of  a  regenerative  furnace.  It  may  be  put  into  the  chambers 
at  some  point  where  the  temperature  is  high,  and  in  this  way  con- 
densation will  be  prevented  as  well  as  the  waste  heat  be  utilized. 
There  is  a  partial  molecular  rearrangement  with  the  steam,  but  the 
action  is  far  from  perfect,  for,  after  passing  through  20  feet  of 
small  brick  flues  at  a  yellow  heat,  the  product  may  contain  20  per 
cent,  of  free  aqueous  vapor.  The  mixture  of  oil  vapor  and  steam 
may  be  burned  in  a  muffle,  for,  after  the  walls  are  red  hot,  there  is 
a  reciprocal  sustentation  of  heat ;  but  the  use  in  reverberatory  fur- 
naces is  wasteful,  since  the  action  is  sluggish.  Even  in  regenera- 
tive practice  a  charge  of  cold  stock  retards  combustion  much  more 
with  oil  than  with  coal  gas,  and  even  at  maximum  temperatures  the 


168  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

flame  is  longer  on  account  of  there  being  double  work  to  do  before 
the  combustion  is  complete.  Each  molecule  of  oil,  as  it  comes  into 
a  hot  furnace,  undergoes  a  process  of  dissociation,  the  rich  hydro- 
carbons breaking  up  under  the  tension  of  internal  molecular  activ- 
ity. This  absorbs  heat,  and  for  an  instant  the  disruption  lowers  the 
temperature  below  the  point  of  ignition.  Moreover,  as  each  point 
of  oil  explodes,  it  makes  a  small  balloon  of  gas,  and  it  takes  a 
moment  for  this  to  become  mixed  with  the  air  necessary  for  its 
combustion.  If  steam  is  present  its  reduction  by  carbon  entails  a 
certain  delay. 

These  matters  may  seem  trifling,  but  they  are  probably  the  ex- 
planation of  the  very  important  fact  that,  under  the  usual  condi- 
tions of  furnace  operation,  a  flame  from  oil  vapor  is  longer  than  a 
flame  from  coal  gas.  In  the  burning  of  clear  carbonic  oxide,  or  a 
mixture  of  it  with  nitrogen,  there  is  no  preliminary  decomposition 
to  be  performed,  the  air  being  free  to  immediately  touch  and  burn 
the  molecules  of  the  fuel. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  the  comparative  economy  in  the  use  of 
coal  and  oil,  since  their  relative  values  vary  so  widely  in  different 
localities,  but  it  may  be  assumed  that  50  gallons  of  oil  are  equivalent 
to  1000  pounds  of  soft  coal  in  regenerative  furnaces  or  under 
boilers. 

(c)   Water  gas: 

NOTE  :    This  discussion  is  condensed  from  an  article  by  George  Lunge,  in  The  Mineral 
Industry  for  1901. 

When  steam  is  passed  over  incandescent  carbon  the  subjoined 
reaction  takes  place : 

C+H20=CO+H2. 

Equal  volumes  of  carbon  monoxide  and  hydrogen  are  formed, 
the  mixture  possessing  the  caloric  value  of  2800  metric  heat  units 
per  cu.  m.,  an  amount  one-half  the  heat  value  of  gas  made  by  dis- 
tilling bituminous  coal  in  retorts.  The  heat  produced  by  gram- 
molecules  is  for  CO+H2+02=C02+H20=68.4+57.6==126  heat 
units,  whereas  the  direct  combustion  of  carbon,  C+02=C02,  pro- 
duces only  97  heat  units.  The  introduction  of  water  cannot  be  the 
source  of  energy,  and  the  apparent  gain  of  126 — 97=29  heat  units 
must  come  from  the  heat  that  accumulates  in  the  incandescent  fuel. 


FUEL.  169 

The  reaction:  C-f H2O^CO-f-H2  is  endothermic ;  i.  e.,  it  takes 
place  with  expenditure  of  heat.  The  splitting  up  of  H20  requires 
57.6  heat  units,  of  which  only  28.6  are  supplied  by  the  reaction 
C-f  0=CO,  so  that  29  heat  units  has  to  be  made  good.  These  2S 
heat  units  must  be  supplied  apart  from  the  incandescent  fuel,  the 
temperature  of  which  soon  falls  below  the  point  where  the  reaction 
C+H20=CO-f  H2  is  prevailing  (assumed  to  be  above  1000°  C.). 
Below  this  temperature  another  reaction  comes  into  play,  viz., 
C+2H20=C02-}-2H2,  which  produces  a  gas  composed  of  one-third 
inert  carbon  dioxide  and  two-thirds  combustible  hydrogen.  This 
second  reaction  is  also  of  endothermic  character,  and  if  real  water 
gas  is  to  be  made,  the  operation  is  divided  into  two  distinct  phases 
or  stages.  Beginning  with  incandescent  coal  in  a  generator  2  or 
3  m.  in  height,  at  a  temperature  of  about  1200°  C.,  steam,  prefer- 
ably in  the  superheated  state,  is  introduced  and  water  gas  is  formed 
according  to  the  reaction, 

C-hH20=CO+H2. 

Soon,  however,  the  temperature  sinks  and  carbon  dioxide  C02 
is  produced  by  the  secondary  reaction, 

C+2H20=C02+2H2. 

Before  the  carbon  dioxide  begins  to  prevail,  the  steam  must  be 
shut  off,  the  temperature  being  then  below  1000°  C.  This  whole 
period  of  steaming  lasts  four  or  five  minutes,  and  the  gas  contains 
by  volume  48  to  50%  H,  40  to  45%  CO,  4  to  5%  C02  and  4  or 
5%  N,  and  has  a  value  of  about  2600  heat  units  per  cu.  m.  After 
the  steam  is  shut  off,  the  blowing  up  begins;  air  is  blown  into  the 
generator.  When  the  temperature  reaches  the  required  degree  the 
air  is  shut  off  and  the  generator  is  ready  for  another  steaming. 
Until  recently  the  blowing  up  was  carried  on  as  in  the  making  of 
ordinary  producer  gas,  but  in  the  Dellwik-Fleischer  process*  such 
conditions  are  established  in  the  generator  that  complete  combus- 
tion to  carbon  dioxide  is  obtained.  The  difference  in  results  are 
outlined  herewith : 

*  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  May,  1900. 


170 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


Per  1  pound  carbon. 

Old  way. 

Dellwik. 

\Vater  gas  cubic  feet 

21.7 
3627 
48.0 

44.7 
7465 
92.5 

Heat  units  

Per  cent,  utilized.  

SEC.  IXd. — Heating  furnaces. 

(a)  Soaking  pits. — In  the  steel  plants  of  Europe  no  coal  is  used 
to  heat  the  ingots  in  the  blooming-mill,  but  in  a  Gjers  soaking  pit 
they  heat  themselves  from  internal  heat. 

(b)  Regenerative  furnaces. — Begenerative  furnaces  are  generally 
used  for  heating  ingots  or  blooms  when  these  ingots  or  blooms  are 
red  hot  to  start  with.    Ingot  furnaces  in  America  resemble  a  Gjers 
soaking  pit  and  are  operated  in  much  the  same  manner,  small 
quantities  of  gas  and  air  being  admitted.    The  coal  used  need  not 
exceed  40  pounds  per  ton,  and  half  this  amount  is  sufficient. 

(c)  Reverberatory   furnaces. — A   reverberatory   furnace   is   one 
in  which  the  fire  is  at   one  end,  the  stack  at  the   other,   and 
the    stock   is   placed  on  the  hearth  between,  the   flame   passing 
over  the  top  of  whatever  is  placed  upon  the  hearth.     Such  fur- 
naces are  quite  generally  used  for  heating  cold  blooms  or  bil- 
lets, but  their  operation  is  far  from  perfect,  for  when  a  full  heat 
of  cold  stock  is  charged,  the  absorption  of  heat  is  so  great  that 
combustion  is  retarded  and  a  clear  hot  flame  cannot  be  obtained.    At 
a  later  period  of  the  operation,  when  the  blooms  are  hot,  a  clear 
flame  cannot  be  carried,  as  the  metal  would  be  oxidized.    During  the 
advanced  stages,  it  is  necessary  to  run  a  smoky  flame,  and  as  the 
blooms  are  of  nearly  the  same  temperature  as  the  flame,  very  little 
heat  is  utilized  in  the  furnace,  but  most  of  the  energy  passes  out 
the  flue.  After  the  blooms  have  reached  their  proper  state  and  while 
they  are  being  drawn  all  the  heat  entering  the  furnace  goes  out  the 
stack.    In  ordinary  reverberatory  furnaces  the  amount  of  fuel  used 
to  heat  a  ton  of  steel  is  twenty  times  as  much  as  theory  would  call 
for.     One  way  of  getting  more  perfect  combustion  is  to  introduce 
air  at  the  bridge  wall,  but  this  often  results  in  loss,  as  the  flame 
will  be  sharp  and  the  metal  be  oxidized.    A  loss  of  only  1  or  2  per 
cent,  of  steel  will  more  than  balance  any  saving  in  fuel. 

Where  coal  is  cheap  the  flame  from  the  heating  furnace  is  often 


FUEL.  171 

allowed  to  escape  directly  into  the  stack,  but  it  is  much  more 
economical  to  let  it  pass  through  a  boiler.  The  amount  of  heat 
available  varies  with  the  condition  of  the  charge,  being  less  after 
the  furnace  is  filled  with  cold  blooms  and  greatest  when  they  are 
at  the  full  heat.  The  boiler  need  not  be  big  enough  to  absorb 
all  the  waste  heat  during  the  short  period  when  the  furnace  is 
hottest,  but  should  be  more  than  big  enough  to  handle  the  minimum. 
Steam  must  be  made,  and  if  not  made  by  this  waste  heat  then  it 
must  be  supplied  from  the  fire-room.  Following  is  a  general  state- 
ment of  the  heat  balance : 

(1)  For  each  ton  of  coal  used  in  twelve  hours  in  the  fire- 
box, the  waste  heat  from  the  furnace  averages  from  25  to  30  horse- 
power. 

(2)  A  furnace  at  its  highest  heat  represents  a  development  of  35 
horse-power  per  ton  of  coal  burned  in  twelve  hours. 

(3)  When  a  furnace  is  supplied  with  a  boiler  capable  of  absorb- 
ing one-half  of  all  the  heat  created  at  the  highest  temperature  of 
the  furnace,  the  average  loss  throughout  the  day  will  be  one-third 
of  the  total  made,  or  one-half  of  what  is  utilized,  this  being  due  to 
the  fact  that  this  limited  capacity  is  enough  at  certain  periods,  and 
that  the  boiler  makes  beyond  its  rated  and  economical  capacity,  as 
shown  by  the  great  loss  of  heat  in  the  escaping  gases. 

(4)  When  a  furnace  is   equipped  with  ample  boiler  capacity,  the 
horse-power  developed  by  each  ton  of  coal  put  into  the  firebox  will 
be  one-half  as  much  as  would  be  developed  by  the  same  coal  if 
burned  under  an  ordinary  stationary  boiler. 

In  Table  IX-E  are  given  analyses  of  the  waste  gases  from  soft- 
coal  reverberatory  furnaces  after  passing  through  boilers.  In  the 
first  column  is  given  the  interval  from  the  time  when  the  furnace 
was  charged  to  the  time  when  the  test  was  taken,  and  in  the  second 
column  is  given  the  number  of  tests  that  were  averaged  to  give  the 
composition  stated.  Observations  were  made  as  to  the  time  when 
fresh  coal  was  added,  but  the  analyses  did  not  seem  to  show  any 
relation  thereto.  Thus  there  were  14  tests  showing  over  6  per  cent. 
CO,  and  the  average  time  since  coaling  for  these  was  13  minutes. 
There  were  20  tests  showing  less  than  3  per  cent.  CO,  and  the 
average  time  since  coaling  was  16  minutes.  There  were  8  tests  with 
over  6  per  cent,  oxygen,  and  the  average  time  since  coaling  was  16 
minutes. 


172 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  IX-E. 
Waste  Gases  from  Reverberatory  Furnaces. 


Interval  from  charging  furn- 
ace to  taking  tests. 

No.  of 

Tests. 

CO, 

CO 

O 

17 

10  8 

4.9 

4.2 

18 

11  9 

3  9 

2.9 

6 

11.8 

7.5 

0.5 

7 

10.6 

7.2 

1.1 

3  hours  to  4  hours  .  *  »  

6 

9.8 

4.2 

5.4 

54 

11.0 

5.0 

3.0 

The  results  are  so  nearly  uniform  that  we  may  take  the  average 
to  find  the  loss  of  heating  power  due  to  the  escape  of  unburned  CO 
and  also  the  loss  o>f  heat  by  the  excess  of  air  or  oxygen.  The  results 
are  given  in  Table  IX-F,  the  loss  from  excess  of  oxygen  being  cal- 
culated on  the  assumption  that  the  gases  leave  the  boiler  at  a  tem- 
perature of  250°  C.=480°  F.  As  already  explained,  the  operation 
cannot  be  conducted  for  the  benefit  of  the  boiler,  for  the  proper 
heating  of  the  steel  is  the  first  consideration,  but  there  is  room  for 
improvement  when  over  one-fifth  of  all  the  power  is  wasted  by  non- 
combustion. 

TABLE  IX-F. 
Calculations  on  Waste  Gases  from  Reverberatory  Furnaces. 


Kind  of  Gas 

Average 

2  h.  30  m. 

3  h.  30  m. 

n™n™ai  (  CO2  per  cent.  . 

ffiS  ?     i  C0    Per  cent-  • 
tlon      1   0     £ercent.  . 
Loss  from  CO  per  cent.  . 
Loss  from  O    per  cent.  . 

Total  loss  per  cent 

11.0 
3.0 
5.0 
21.5 
3.6 

10.6 

7.2 
1.1 
27.8 
0.5 

9.8 
4.2 
5.4 
20.8 
3.3 

25.1 

28.3 

24.1 

(d)  Continuous  furnaces. — A  continuous  furnace  is  a  rever- 
beratory  furnace,  where  the  blooms  or  billets  are  fed  in  at  the 
flue  end,  pushed  toward  the  firebox  and  drawn  when  they 
reach  the  hottest  part.  The  pieces  are  hot  when  they  reach 
the  vicinity  of  the  fire,  and,  therefore,  the  combustion  of  the 
fuel  is  facilitated,  as  the  flame  coming  over  the  bridge  wall  is 
never  cooled  by  freshly  charged  blooms,  as  in  the  intermittent  fur- 


FUEL.  173 

nace.  As  the  flame  goes  onward  to  the  flue  end,  it  finds  colder  and 
colder  blooms  and  gives  up  its  heat,  so  that  if  we  conceive  a  furnace 
of  indefinite  length,  the  escaping  gases  will  be  entirely  cold. 

One  of  the  difficulties. about  a  continuous  furnace  is  to  move  the 
pieces  from  one  end  to  the  other.  The  natural  and  almost  universal 
way  is  to  put  the  hearth  on  an  angle,  but  some  power  must  be 
applied.  In  Europe,  where  such  furnaces  are  common,  it  is  not 
unusual  to  roll  the  blooms  or  ingots  forward  by  hand  labor,  but  the 
cost  of  such  labor  would  be  prohibitive  in  America,  while  this  prac- 
tice gives  rise  to  heavy  loss,  as  the  coating  of  scale  falls  off  at  every 
turn  and  exposes  a  fresh  surface  to  oxidation.  It  is  impossible  to 
say  how  much  of  the  heavy  oxidation  in  some  foreign  works  is  due 
to  this  cause  and  how  much  to  a  sharper  flame  than  is  customary 
in  America.  Kails  are  sometimes  buried  in  the  hearth  of  the  fur- 
nace, which  are  replaced  when  they  burn  away,  the  ingots  being 
pushed  forward  by  power;  in  other  cases,  no  rails  are  used,  but  the 
ingots  are  simply  pushed  along  the  sand  bottom,  which  is  much 
torn  by  the  operation. 

In  America  the  general  practice  is  to  have  the  billets  rest  on 
water-cooled  pipes.  These  pipes  absorb  considerable  heat  and  cool 
the  under  side  of  the  bloom  somewhat,  but  the  gain  in  time  and 
labor  covers  this  small  loss.  Such  furnaces  in  this  country,  with 
few  exceptions,  are  used  for  billets  not  over  6  inches  square,  since 
it  is  difficult  to  heat  larger  blooms  uniformly  on  the  top  and  bot- 
tom, and  there  is  not  time  when  they  reach  the  end  of  the  fur- 
nace to  turn  them  over  and  let  the  under  side  get  hot.  In  the  ex- 
ceptions just  noted,  the  blooms  are  of  uniform  size  and  the  con- 
ditions are  favorable,  a  furnace  of  this  type  being  successfully 
operated  on  pieces  8  inches  square  and  10  feet  long.  The  continu- 
ous furnace  saves  little  fuel,  for  it  does  not  produce  steam  like  a 
reverberatory  furnace,  but  it  saves  considerable  in  furnace  labor. 

SEC.  IXe. — Coke  ovens. — Almost  all  the  coke  of  America  and 
about  three-fourths  of  that  produced  in  England  is  made  in  bee- 
hive ovens,  whereby  a  pile  of  coal  is  burned  slowly  until  the  vola- 
tile matters  are  expelled,  these  volatile  matters  passing  away  in 
clouds  of  smoke.  This  smoke  is  a  rich  gas  during  the  early  stages 
of  the  operation,  and  might  be  used  as  a  source  of  heat  if  such 
plants  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  industrial  establishments.  In 
Belgium  and  Germany  bee-hive  ovens  were  long  since  superseded  by 


174  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

retort  ovens,  by  which  is  meant  any  construction  wherein  the  coal 
is  heated  in  a  closed  muffle  by  the  combustion  of  the  gases  dis- 
tilled from  itself.  The  gases  so  distilled  may  be  taken  from  the 
tops  of  the  retorts  and  carried  to  purifiers,  where  the  tar  and  am- 
monia are  extracted,  in  which  case  they  are  called  by-product 
ovens. 

In  other  cases  the  gas  is  taken  directly  from  the  upper  part  of 
the  coal  chamber  to  the  combustion  passages  underneath.  By  this 
method  the  by-products  cannot  be  obtained,  but  the  gases  reach 
the  flues  at  a  red  heat,  while  in  by-product  work  they  are  thoroughly 
cold.  Consequently,  when  no  by-product  work  is  attempted,  less  gas 
is  needed  to  perform  the  coking  and  more  heat  is  available  for 
steam  raising.  It  is  also  possible  to  use  a  leaner  coal,  containing 
less  volatile  matter.  Thus  we  might  say  that  if  the  gas  be  scrubbed 
free  from  tar  and  thoroughly  cooled,  the  coal  should  contain  18  per 
cent,  of  volatile  matter,  in  order  that  sufficient  calorific  value  be 
brought  to  the  flues,  while  a  coal  with  15  per  cent,  of  volatile 
matter  would  furnish  sufficient  gas,  if  this  gas  were  brought  red 
hot  into  the  flues  with  all  the  tar  in  suspension.  These  figures  are 
not  to  be  accepted  literally,  as  much  depends  on  the  nature  of  the 
volatile  matter.  Some  Semet-Solvay  ovens  in  Belgium  are  work- 
ing on  coal  with  only  17  per  cent,  of  volatile  matter,  with  profitable 
recovery  of  the  by-products.  In  this  country  some  Pocahontas  coal 
has  been  worked  with  18  per  cent,  of  volatile  constituents. 

In  Germany  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  ovens  have  no  by- 
product plant  attached  and  some  of  these  are  new  installations, 
while  at  many  other  works  the  chemical  industry  is  very  profitable. 
In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  retort  oven  without  by-products 
is  best  where  the  value  of  these  products  is  small,  and  where  the 
retort  system  yields  a  large  increased  percentage  of  coke  in  com- 
parison with  the  bee-hive,  or  where  superior  density  is  of  advan- 
tage. 

The  gas  expelled  from  the  coal  during  the  first  stages  of  the  oper- 
ation will  be  rich  and  in  great  volume,  but  there  follows  a  time 
when  it  decreases,  but  it  is  necessary  to  continue  the  distillation  to 
have  the  coke  dense.  During  this  latter  period  the  coal  is  not  self- 
supporting,  in  that  the  gas  burned  in  the  flues  is  more  than  the  gas 
produced,  and  the  freshly  charged  ovens  near  by  must  make  up  the 
deficit.  It  is  possible  to  keep  separate  the  product  made  during  the 


FUEL.  175 

early  part  of  the  process  and  use  this  in  supplying  cities  with  il- 
luminating gas,,  reserving  the  later  product,  containing  less  illu- 
minants,  for  burning  in  the  flues. 

The  following  remarks  are  quoted  from  Blauvelt:*  "There  are 
two  distinct  types  of  retort-ovens,  viz.,  the  vertical  and  horizontal 
flue  types.  In  the  former  there  are  thirty-odd  vertical  flues  in 
each  wall  between  the  ovens.  These  are  connected  at  the  top  and 
bottom  by  larger  horizontal  flues,  running  the  length  of  the  oven, 
the  lower  one  being  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  partition  midway 
between  the  ends.  The  gas  is  burned  in  the  lower  flue,  the  flame 
rising  through  half  the  vertical  flues  and  descending  through  the 
other  half,  and  escaping  usually  to  regenerators  of  the  ordinary 
reversing  type,  which  heat  the  air  for  the  combustion.  The  course 
of  the  gases  is  reversed  about  every  hour  and  sent  through  the  flues 
in  the  opposite  direction. 

"In  the  horizontal  flue  oven  the  gas  is  burned  in  horizontal  flues, 
usually  three  in  number,  which  are  connected  at  the  ends  to  form 
a  continuous  system,  the  gas  being  admitted  through  small  pipes 
at  the  ends  of  the  top  and  middle  flues,  where  it  meets  air  for  the 
combustion.  The  gases  travel  from  above  downward,  pass  under 
the  bottom  of  the  oven,  through  a  recuperative  arrangement  for 
heating  the  air,  and  then  to  boilers,  where  steam  is  made  for  oper- 
ating the  plant." 

Fig.  IX-B  is  an  example  of  the  Semet-Solvay  horizontal  flue  type 
at  Ensley,  Ala.,  while  Fig.  IX-C  shows  the  regenerative  Otto  Hoff- 
man ovens  at  the  works  of  the  Maryland  Steel  Company  at  Spar- 
row's Point,  Md. 

Of  the  total  number  of  coke  ovens  in  the  United  States  in  1903 
as  given  in  the  Census  Report,  only  about  two  per  cent,  were  of 
retort  construction,  while  in  Germany  there  were  not  2  per  cent, 
of  bee-hives.  This  difference  is  due  to  several  causes.  One  is  that 
the  bee-hive  oven  makes  a  superior  coke  from  Connellsville  coal, 
and  there  is  a  prejudice  or  belief  that  the  retort  coke  will  not  be 
as  good.  Another  reason  is  that  the  cost  of  the  ovens  is  very  much 
greater. 

The  advantages  of  retorts  appear  in  using  a  coal  poor  in  volatile 
matter,  for  when  such  coal  is  coked  in  bee-hives,  a  great  deal  of  the 
fixed  carbon  must  be  burned  to  supply  heat,  and  the  yield  of  coke 

*  Trans.  A.  I.M.  £.,1898. 


176 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


is  small;  with,  the  closed  oven  the  heat  required  is  less,  a  smaller 
amount  of  combustible  suffices  and  the  only  loss  in  weight  is  the 
volatile  part.  Thus,  with  a  rich  coal,  the  }deld  of  coke  is  the 


SECTION  E-E 
SECTION  D-D  />-n-^\  SECTION  F-F 


CROSS  SECTION 


LONGITUDINAL  SECTION 

FIG.  IX-B. — SEMET-SOLVAY  COKE  OVEN. 


FUEL. 


17T 


178  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

same  in  the  bee-hive  and  the  retort,  the  latter,  however,  giving  an 
excess  of  gas  for  other  uses ;  while  with  poor  coals  the  yield  of  coke 
is  greater  in  the  retort  oven.  It  is  not  correct  to  say  that  the  yield 
of  coke  can  be  accurately  estimated  from  the  laboratory  tests  on 
fixed  carbon,  for  there  is  a  complicated  reaction  in  the  retort  oven 
and  in  the  bee-hive,  whereby  the  dense  hydrocarbons  are  broken  up 
after  they  are  distilled  and  deposit  carbon  in  the  mass  of  coal,  so 
that  it  is  possible  to  produce  more  coke  than  there  was  fixed  carbon 
in  the  coal.  The  proportion  so  made  depends  upon  the  molecular 
arrangement  of  each  particular  coal. 

England  has  been  slow  in  building  retort  ovens.  They  have  been 
used  for  many  years  on  the  lean  coals  of  South  Wales,  but  it  is  only 
recently  that  they  have  come  into  general  use  in  the  Cleveland  dis- 
trict and  around  Leeds.  Eapid  progress  has  been  made  within  a 
few  years.  The  total  coke  production  of  England  is  supposed  to  be 
from  twelve  to  thirteen  million  tons,  and  the  retort  ovens  now 
erected  in  the  Kingdom  have  about  one-quarter  of  that  capacity. 

SEC.  IXf. — Coal  washing. — Many  deposits  of  coal  contain  a.  high 
percentage  of  ash  or  sulphur,  or  both.  Proper  washing  will  reduce 
both,  but  the  extent  of  the  purification  will  depend  on  the  way  in 
which  they  are  combined.  If  most  of  the  sulphur  is  in  coarse 
grains  of  pyrite,  it  can  be  easily  removed  by  a  bumping-table  or  a 
one-spigot  washer,  but  if  a  large  proportion  is  fine,  then  some  com- 
bination of  sieves  and  jigs  must  be  installed.  If,  unfortunately,  the 
sulphur  exists  as  sulphate  of  alumina  or  lime,  or  as  organic  mat- 
ter, it  may  be  impracticable,  even  by  a  jigging  plant,  to  bring  it 
down  to  the  point  required  for  good  coke.  The  washing  of  coal  is 
a  separation  of  minerals  founded  on  their  unlike  rate  of  falling  in 
water,  but,  under  favorable  conditions,  the  results  obtained  by  very 
simple  apparatus  may  suffice  for  commercial  work.  In  many  other 
cases  more  complicated  processes  are  necessary,  while  in  all  cases 
the  better  apparatus  will  give  a  purer  product.  In  one  complete 
plant  in  Western  Germany  the  coal  in  its  natural  state  carries  from 
22  to  30  per  cent,  of  ash,  which  is  reduced  to  about  10  per  cent. 
At  an  English  works  a  coal  of  30  per  cent,  is  brought  down  to  6 
per  cent.  In  Alabama  17.69  per  cent,  asl  is  cleaned  down  to  6.7 
per  cent.,  and  1.6  per  cent,  sulphur  to  0.7*  per  cent. 


CHAPTER   X. 

J 

THE  ACID  OPEN-HEARTH  *  PROCESS. 

SECTION  Xa. — Nature  of  the  charge  in  a  steel-melting  furnace. 
— In  acid  open-hearth  practice  the  shell  is  first  lined  with  nine 
inches  or  more  of  clay  brick.  The  furnace  is  then  heated  to  the 
working  temperature,  and  sand  is  spread  in  successive  layers  over 
the  entire  hearth.  Each  layer  is  heated  to  a  full  heat  for  about 
ten  minutes  or  until  it  is  "set,"  so  as  to  be  hard,  the  sand  being 
selected  so  that  it  will  give  a  dense  and  solid  bottom.  When  fin- 
ished, the  thickness  of  the  lining  should  be  from  18  to  24  inches. 
The  area  of  the  cavity  for  holding  the  charge  will  be  determined 
by  the  size  of  the  furnace,  for  the  depth  of  the  metal  should  be 
about  12  to  15  inches  in  a  5-ton  furnace  and  from  18  to  24  inches 
when  the  charge  is  30  to  50  tons.  If  the  bath  is  shallow,  the  oxi- 
dation is  excessive;  while  if  deep,  the  melting  is  slow. 

The  constituents  of  the  charge  vary  in  different  places.  Some- 
times pig-iron  alone  is  used,  but  when  scrap  can  be  obtained  it 
forms  part  of  the  mixture.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  have  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  pig-iron  to  protect  the  iron  from  oxidation.  The 
stock  must  be  low  in  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  as  there  is  no  elimi- 
nation of  these  elements. 

The  content  of  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon  is  not  limited  by 
narrow  bounds,  for  these  elements  are  oxidized  during  the  process 
and  their  presence  in  greater  or  lesser  amounts  alters  the  working 
of  the  charge  rather  than  the  composition  of  the  product.  In  the 
manufacture  of  soft  steel  it  is  the  usual  practice,  when  scrap  is 
available,  to  regulate  the  proportion  of  pig-iron  so  that  the  bath, 
after  melting,  shall  be  free  from  silicon  and  manganese,  and  shall 
contain  from  three-fourths  to  one  per  cent,  of  carbon.  During  the 
elimination  of  this  element,  the  metal  is  in  continual  ebullition, 
and  its  temperature  and  condition,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the 
slag,  may  be  controlled  in  preparation  for  recarburizing  and  cast- 

179 


180  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

ing.  If  too  small  an  amount  of  pig-iron  is  used,  the  molten  bath 
"will  contain  neither  silicon,  manganese,  nor  carbon,  and  will  be 
viscous  and  pasty.  Such  a  mass  will  be  oxidized  by  the  flame,  and 
the  oxide  of  iron  will  scorify  the  bottom. 

SEC.  Xb. — Chemical  history  during  melting. — The  amount  of 
oxidation  during  melting  is  increased  by  the  presence  of  hydrogen 
in  the  gas,  by  a  sharp  flame,  and  by  a  port  construction  that  allows 
free  air  to  impinge  upon  the  metal.  It  is  also  determined  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  stock  is  charged.  The  pig-iron  should  be 
spread  evenly  over  the  scrap,  so  that  it  will  melt  first  and  trickle 
over  the  hot  steel,  and  thus  each  atom  of  iron  will  be  protected  by 
an  atom  of  silicon  or  carbon  for  which  oxygen  has  a  greater  affinity. 

It  is  impossible  to  obtain  perfect  protection,  and  when  only  a 
small  proportion  of  pig  is  used  there  will  be  spots  where  the  scrap 
is  entirely  uncovered,  and  large  amounts  of  iron  oxide  will  be  pro- 
duced. If  this  cinder  forms  a  pool  on  the  viscous  surface  of  the 
charge,  it  will  be  mixed  sooner  or  later  with  high-carbon  metal,  and 
an  interchange  will  occur  with  reduction  of  iron,  the  result  being 
the  same  as  if  mixture  had  taken  place  at  an  earlier  stage;  but  if 
the  fused  oxide  comes  in  contact  with  the  hearth,  scorification  will 
ensue  with  formation  of  silicate  of  iron,  and  though  at  a  later 
period  this  scoria  may  be  mixed  with  high-carbon  metal,  the  harm 
cannot  be  completely  remedied.  A  portion  of  the  iron  may  be  re- 
duced and  a  higher  silicate  formed,  but  silica  once  having  entered 
the  slag  is  there  to  stay,  and  will  permanently  hold  a  greater  or 
less  amount  of  iron  oxide. 

The  value  of  the  elements  found  in  pig-iron  in  protecting  the 
scrap  from  oxidation  will  be  in  proportion  to  their  ability  to  unite 
with  oxygen,  as  shown  by  the  following  table : 

1  unit  of  carbon  combines  with  1.333  units  of  oxygen  to  form  CO. 
1  unit  of  silicon  combines  with  1.143  units  of  oxygen  to  form  SiOa. 
1  unit  of  manganese  combines  with  0.291  unit  of  oxygen  to  form  MnO. 
1  unit  of  titanium  combines  with  0.176  unit  of  oxygen  to  form  Ti02. 

This  table  represents  a  broad  truth,  but  some  elements  are  pref- 
erable to  others.  It  is  necessary  that,  after  melting,  the  metal 
should  be  protected  from  the  flame  by  a  layer  of  slag  containing 
about  50  per  cent,  of  silica.  If  the  charge  is  made  up  of  one- 
quarter  pig-iron  carrying  1  per  cent,  silicon,  the  silica  produced 
by  oxidation,  the  sand  attached  to  the  pig-iron,  and  the  material 


THE   ACID   OPEN-HEARTH    PROCESS. 


181 


from  the  scouring  of  the  hearth  are  usually  sufficient  for  the  re- 
quirements of  the  cinder,  but  with  low-silicon  pig-iron,  free  from 
adhering  sand,  it  may  be  necessary  to  add  additional  silica  to  pre- 
vent the  basic  slag  from  making  inroads  upon  the  bottom.  On  the 
contrary,  if  the  silicon  in  the  pig-iron  is  high,  the  slag  will  be 

TABLE  X-A. 
Elimination  of  Metalloids  in  an  Open-Hearth  Charge. 


Nature  of  Sample. 

Group  I. 

Group  II. 

Pig-iron  pounds  

11700 

20700 

Steel  Scrap,  pounds  

45,550 

36,300 

•Composition  of  original  charge,  per  cent,  (estimated) 

(Si 
Mn 
(C 

0.40 
0.90 
1.00 

0.65 
0.85 
LSD 

Metal  when  melted,  per  cent  

(Si 
<  Mn 

.02 
.09 

.05 
,0(J 

!c 

JH 

.64 

Slag  after  melting,  per  cent  

<SiO, 
<  MnO 

60.24 
21.67 

49.46 
18  16 

/FeO 

23.91 

83.27 

viscous  and  infusible.  Manganese  helps  to  counteract  this  vis- 
cosity, but  in  the  absence  of  this  element  iron  oxide  must  be  added 
in  the  shape  of  ore,  or  formed  from  the  bath  by  waste  of  iron. 

The  way  in  which  the  metalloids  are  eliminated  during  the  melt- 
ing will  be  understood  from  Table  X-A.  Each  column  represents 
the  average  of  consecutive  charges ;  Group  I  includes  nineteen  heats 
melted  with  soft-coal  producer  gas,  and  Group  II  six  heats  made 
with  oil  vapor.  The  oil  vapor  is  more  oxidizing  than  the  coal  gas, 
so  that  although  the  original  charge  was  higher  in  oxygen-absorb- 
ing elements,  the  bath,  after  melting,  had  the  same  composition  in 
both  cases.  The  slag  shows  a  great  variation  in  the  oxides  of  iron 
and  manganese,  for  the  amount  of  manganese  was  limited  by  the 
content  in  the  charge,  and  since  the  slag  required  a  certain  pro- 
portion of  bases,  the  deficit  was  made  up  by  oxidation  of  iron. 

SEC.  Xc. — Chemical  history  after  melting. — After  the  melting 
it  is  necessary  to  oxidize  the  remaining  carbon,  manganese,  and  sili- 
con, by  keeping  the  bath  at  a  high  heat  and  adding  iron  ore  in  suc- 
cessive doses,  thus  forming  silica  and  oxide  of  manganese  which 
go  into  the  slag,  and  carbonic  oxide  which  escapes  with  the  flame. 
This  combustion  of  carbon  produces  a  bubbling  over  the  entire  sur- 
face of  the  bath,  exposing  the  metal  to  the  flame,  and  keeping  it  at 


182 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


a  high  temperature.  The  union  of  the  oxygen  of  the  ore  with  the 
silicon  and  carbon  sets  free  metallic  iron,  which  is  immediately 
dissolved  by  the  bath. 

If  the  ore  is  added  properly,  it  is  reduced  as  fast  as  it  is  put  in, 
as  will  be  evident  from  Table  X-B,  which  shows  the  history  of  the 
metal  and  the  slag  in  the  groups  above  considered.  In  Group  I  an 
average  of  1020  pounds  of  ore  was  used  on  each  heat  to  decarburize, 
while  on  Group  II  only  850  pounds  was  added,  but  in  spite  of 
the  addition  of  the  ore  the  character  of  the  slag  remains  unchanged. 
There  is  an  increase  of  FeQ,  but  this  does  not  show  an  increase 
in  basicity,  for  the  volume  of  slag  is  increasing,  both  from  the  wear 
of  the  hearth  and  the  silica  from  the  ore,  so  that  in  order  that  the 
composition  of  the  slag  should  remain  the  same  it  would  be  neces- 
sary that  there  be  a  simultaneous  supply  of  exactly  the  right  pro- 
portions of  both  MnO  and  FeO.  This  cannot  happen,  for  the  metal 
after  melting  is  nearly  free  from  manganese,  and  since  the  ore  con- 
tains none  there  is  no  source  of  supply  of  this  element.  With  the 
dilution  of  the  slag,  there  is  a  vacancy  left  for  a  base,  and  iron  ox- 
ide is  the  only  available  candidate.  That  this  is  the  true  explana- 
tion will  be  seen  from  the  totals  of  MnO  and  FeO,  which  show  that 
the  slag  at  the  end  of  the  operation  is  almost  identical  with  the 
slag  after  melting,  since  the  sum  of  these  factors  represents  the 
real  basicity  of  the  cinder. 


TABLE  X-B. 
History  of  Metal  and  Slag  in  an  Acid  Furnace. 


Subject. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

Group  I. 
19  heats  soft  coal  gas. 

Grouu  II. 
6  heats  oil  gas. 

After 
melting 

End  of 
operation. 

After 
melting. 

End  of 
operation. 

Metal. 

81... 

.02 
.09 
.54 

.02 
.04 
.13 

.05 
.06 
.64 

.01 
.02 
.12 

Mn 

c  

Blag. 

SiO 

50.24 
21.67 
23.91 
45.58 

49.40 
16.50 
29.79 
46.29 

49.46 
13.16 
33  27 
46.43 

49.36 
11.30 
34.11 
45.41 

MnO  

FeO               .  . 

MnO+FeO  

THE   ACID   OPEN-HEARTH    PROCESS.  183 

SEC.  Xd. — Quantitative  calculations  on  acid  slags. — The  fore- 
going results  do  not  show  the  alteration  in  the  amount  of  the  slag 
during  the  operation.  It  is  out  of  the  question  to  weigh  the  cinder 
at  different  periods,  but  it  is  possible  to  approach  the  truth  by  the 
following  method:  The  final  slag,  after  tapping,  is  weighed.  By 
subtracting  from  this  weight  the  MnO  produced  by  the  addition 
of  the  recarburizer  and  the  sand  from  the  tap-hole  and  ladle-lin- 
ings, the  amount  of  slag  which  was  in  the  furnace  before  tapping 
may  be  computed.  Given  the  analysis  of  the  slag  at  that  time,  it 
is  easy  to  calculate  the  weight  of  its  constituents,  among  which 
will  be  the  manganese;  if  the  ore  contained  none  of  this  element, 
the  amount  which  was  present  throughout  the  operation  will  be 
known ;  and  since  the  percentage  of  manganese  in  the  slag  and  in 
the  metal  can  be  determined,  and  the  weight  of  the  metal  can  be 
calculated  for  any  stage  of  the  work,  all  the  data  are  at  hand  for 
a  determination  of  the  weight  of  the  slag  at  any  time. 

This  process  applied  to  the  two  groups  of  heats  in  Table  X-B 
gives  the  results  in  Table  X-C,  where  it  is  shown  that  although 
nearly  twice  as  much  pig-iron  was  added  in  Group  II,  as  in  Table 
X-A,  the  greater  oxidizing  power  of  the  oil  flame  took  care  of  this 
extra  amount,  the  result  being  seen  in  the  greater  quantity  of  slag 
after  melting.  When  the  bath  was  thoroughly  fluid,  the  oil  flame 
still  acted  more  powerfully,  but  was  unable  to  burn  the  iron,  since 
the  metalloids  furnished  ample  protection,  and  the  increase  in  the 
weight  of  slag  during  oreing  is  no  greater  in  one  group  than  in 
the  other.  In  Group  I,  41  per  cent,  of  the  ore  was  reduced,  while 

TABLE  X-C. 

Reduction  of  Ore. 


Subject. 

Group  I. 

Group  II. 

Coal  gas, 
pounds. 

Oil  gas, 
pounds. 

4050 
2810 
1020 
643 
836 

5670 
4530 
850 
586 
313 

Slag  after  melting      

Ore  added                                ... 

FeO  in  ore  added  

FeO  reduced  during  oreing   

in  Group  II  there  was  45  per  cent.  These  figures  have  no  general 
significance,  for,  if  the  slag  is  viscous  after  melting,  a  certain 
amount  of  ore  will  be  necessary  to  confer  fluidity  and  will  not  be 


184 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


reduced.  Since  this  quantity  will  be  a  constant  under  given  con- 
ditions, no  matter  how  much  ore  is  afterward  needed,  it  might  be 
90  per  cent,  of  a  small  addition  and  only  10  per  cent,  of  a  large 
one. 

SEC.  Xe. — Reduction  of  iron  ore. — This  reduction  of  ore  is  a 
matter  of  importance  in  using  large  proportions  of  pig-iron.  Quite 
an  amount  of  oxide  is  then  necessary  to  satisfy  the  silicon  of  the 
pig,  as  well  as  the  sand  adhering  to  it,  but  after  the  slag  is  formed 
there  is  no  increase  in  its  volume,  except  from  the  impurities  in  the 
ore  and  the  wear  of  the  hearth,  so  that  as  fast  as  the  ore  is  added 
its  oxygen  is  transferred  to  the  metalloids,  and  its  iron  to  the  bath. 

TABLE  X-D. 
Slag  and  Metal  at  Different  Periods  of  the  Operation. 

COMPOSITION  OF  THB  SI^AQ. 


Constituents, 

Number  of  Heat. 

Pounds  of 

after  addition  of  ore  as 

ore  added. 

shown  in  first  column. 

7596 

7598 

7606 

7635 

Average 

None. 

SiOa,  percent. 

50.27 

61.96 

62.43 

62.94 

61.90 

600 

«           « 

49.27 

51.10 

55.82 

61.72 

61.98 

1000 

«           « 

52.77 

60.30 

65.73 

62.28 

62.77 

1500 

><           « 

50.97 

61.48 

65.66 

62.90 

62.75 

None. 

MnO,  per  cent. 

14.91 

21.65 

15.61 

21.84 

18.50 

500 

«           « 

15.20 

19.09 

15.31 

20.44 

17.51 

1000 

«           « 

14.70 

17.50 

18.89 

19.06 

16.29 

1500 

«           « 

14.22 

16.72 

12.40 

16.36 

14.92 

None. 

FeO,  per  cent. 

81.23 

22.59 

27.14 

23.18 

26.03 

500 

«           « 

80.68 

26.12 

25.11 

24.21 

26.53 

1000 

i*           K 

26.96 

28.26 

26.20 

26.26 

26.92 

1500 

«<           « 

81.70 

26.03 

26.96 

29.18 

28.45 

None. 

FeO  and  MnO,  per  cent. 

46.14 

44.24 

42.75 

45.02 

44.54 

500 

a               « 

45.88 

45.21 

40.42 

44.65 

44.04 

1000 

«               «< 

41.66 

45.76 

40.09 

45.32 

43.21 

1500 

<«               « 

45.92 

42.75 

89.86 

45.49 

43.88 

COMPOSITION  OF  THE  METAL. 


Heat 
No. 

Silicon,  per  cent. 

Manganese,  per  cent. 

After  adding  ore,  as  below. 

After  adding  ore,  as  below. 

None. 

500  Ibs. 

1000 
Ibs. 

1500 
Ibs. 

None. 

500 
Ibs. 

1000 
Ibs. 

1500 
Ibs. 

7596 
7598 
7606 
7635 

.07 
.04 
.04 
.13 

.01 
undet. 
.05 
.07 

.01 
undet. 
.03 
.05 

.01 
.01 
.02 
.06 

.10 
.02 
.08 
.19 

.02 
.02 
.05 
.08 

.02 
.02 
.03 
.09 

.02 
.02 
trace. 
.10 

This  may  be  illustrated  by  Table  X-D,  which  gives  the  records  of 
heats,  on  each  of  which  1500  pounds  of  ore  were  added  after  melt- 
ing to  decarburize  the  metal. 

SEC.  Xf. — Pig-and-ore  process. — The  amount  of  ore  required  for 


THE    ACID    OPEN-HEARTH    PROCESS.  185 

a  charge  will  not  follow  closely  the  amount  of  carbon,  since  the 
flame  is  constantly  at  work,  and  ore  is  added  when  the  melter 
thinks  it  advisable  rather  than  when  absolutely  necessary.  If  the 
charge  is  hot,  it  dissolves  the  ore  rapidly  and  there  is  little  chance 
for  the  flame  to  do  its  share  of  oxidation,  while  if  the  charge  is 
cold  only  a  small  amount  of  ore  will  be  added  and  the  oxygen  will 
be  derived  from  the  gases.  It  may  be  broadly  said  that  if  the  bath 
contains  1  per  cent,  of  carbon,  1500  pounds  of  ore  may  be  used  in 
bringing  it  down  to  .05  per  cent.  The  first  500  pounds  will  reduce 
it  to  about  .80  per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  second  to  .40  per  cent,  and 
the  third  will  finish  the  work.  If  silicon  and  manganese  should 
be  as  low  during  the  interval  between  the  first  and  second  ore  addi- 
tions as  at  a  later  time,  the  burning  of  the  carbon  might  be  the 
same  then  as  later,  but  either  the  presence  of  these  protectors  or 
the  less  favorable  physical  condition  of  the  slag  in  a  high-carbon 
bath  retards  the  action  at  the  start.  When  large  quantities  of  high- 
silicon  or  high-manganese  pig-iron  are  used,  the  first  additions  of 
ore  are  consumed  by  the  unburned  excess  of  these  elements,  and 
hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  pounds  of  ore  may  be  added  after 
melting  before  the  carbon  is  affected.  Therefore,  when  it  is  neces- 
sary to  charge  nothing  but  pig-iron,  it  is  advisable  to  have  it  con- 
tain as  little  silicon  as  possible,  and  even  then  the  oxidation  of 
carbon  requires  several  hours.  The  ore  is  not  lost,  for  the  reduced 
iron  makes  up  for  the  metalloids  which  are  burned,  so  that  the 
weight  of  the  steel  may  equal  or  exceed  the  weight  of  the  pig-iron 
charged. 

The  expense  of  the  pig-and-ore  process  rests  in  the  slow  combus- 
tion of  carbon,  for  it  is  impossible  to  hurry  the  work  without  caus- 
ing violent  boiling  of  the  voluminous  slag,  producing  scorification 
of  the  hearth  and  possibly  a  loss  of  metal  through  the  doors.  The 
process  upon  an  acid  hearth  is  much  slower  than  on  a  basic  bottom, 
for  in  the  latter  case  a  slag  rich  in  iron  does  not  have  disastrous 
results  upon  the  hearth.  Since  the  fuel  consumption  per  hour  is 
nearly  the  same  during  the  period  of  oreing  as  it  is  during  the 
period  of  melting,  there  is  a  considerable  decrease  in  product  with 
an  increased  fuel  ratio. 

SEC.  Xg. — Conditions  modifying  the  product. — If  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  metal  is  high,  the  last  traces  of  silicon  will  not  be  oxi- 
dized. In  the  Bessemer  converter  the  metal  may  contain  as  much 


186  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

as  1  per  cent,  of  silicon  if  blown  sufficiently  hot,  but  in  the  open 
hearth  there  is  no  chance  for  the  bath  to  arrive  at  an  intense  de- 
gree of  heat  as  long  as  a  considerable  percentage  of  this  element  is 
present;  for  superheating  is  not  readily  attained  without  a  lively 
bath,  and  the  bath  will  very  seldom  be  lively  as  long  as  it  holds 
a  high  content  of  silicon.  Thus  the  open  hearth  cannot  rival  the 
converter  in  producing  high-silicon  metal  by  non-combustion,  but 
under  suitable  conditions  the  amount  carried  along  in  the  metal 
may  be  quite  appreciable,  and,  by  holding  the  bath  at  a  very  high 
temperature  with  a  silicious  slag,  there  will  even  be  a  reduction  of 
the  silica  of  the  hearth.  This  variation  in  affinity  plays  an  important 
part  in  the  production  of  steel  castings. 

The  presence  of  silicon,  due  to  high  temperature,  tends  to  pre- 
vent the  absorption  of  gases,  and  it  is  stated  by  0 deist jerna*  that 
if  at  any  time  the  metal  is  allowed  to  cool,  so  that  the  last  traces 
of  silicon  are  burned,  the  gases  which  are  absorbed  cannot  be  ex- 
pelled by  a  subsequent  superheating. 

Odelstjerna  is  doubtless  correct  in  his  statements,  but  there  may 
be  other  factors  involved  in  a  full  explanation.  It  is  certain 
that  in  the  manufacture  of  small  ingots  to  be  rolled  directly  into 
plates,  there  are  delicate  adjustments  of  temperature  and  slag  that 
are  not  easily  explained  by  considering  silicon  alone.  One  of  these 
factors  is  the  extent  and  force  of  the  oxidizing  influence.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  some  metallurgists  that  the  best  quality  of  open- 
hearth  steel  can  only  be  made  when  the  burning  of  the  metalloids 
is  carried  on  at  a  slow  rate,  so  that  the  bath  shall  not  contain  an 
excess  of  oxygen  at  any  time,  and  it  is  stated  by  Ehrenwertht  that 
a  certain  American  works  makes  a  practice  of  keeping  a  charge  in 
the  furnace  a  very  long  time  when  a  good  quality  of  steel  is  de- 
sired. As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  works  in  question  did  carry  out 
such  a  system  at  one  time  out  of  respect  to  foreign  tradition,  but 
found  no  advantage  in  so  doing,  and  has  discontinued  the  practice. 

It  is  also  an  opinion,  held  by  men  of  reputation,  that  a  high  pro- 
portion of  pig-iron  in  the  original  charge  will  give  a  superior 
product.  If  this  is  true,  it  probably  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
presence  of  a  high  proportion  of  carbon  after  melting,  with  the 

*  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  308. 

t  Das  Berg-  und  Huttenwesen  auf  der  Weltausstellung  in  Chicago.    Ehrenwerth',  1895, 
p.  276. 


THE   ACID   OPEN-HEARTH    PROCESS.  187 

consequent  long  exposure  to  the  flame,  will  result  in  a  thorough 
washing  of  the  bath.  I  believe  that  there  is  a  limit  to  this  action, 
and  that  little  can  be  gained  by  raising  the  content  of  carbon  in 
the  melted  bath  above  1  per  cent.,  for  this  proportion  insures  a 
vigorous  boil.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  condition  of  the  bath, 
after  it  has  been  run  down  from  1  per  cent,  of  carbon  to  three- 
tenths  of  1  per  cent.,  can  be  different  from  the  condition  which 
would  have  existed  if  the  original  content  had  been  2  per  cent.  It 
seems  probable  that  one  or  two  hours  of  exposure  of  the  completely 
liquid  bath  to  the  flame  would  give  ample  opportunity  for  any  re- 
actions which  could  be  in  progress. 

SEC.  Xh. — Sulphur  and  phosphorus. — In  the  above  records  no 
account  is  taken  of  sulphur  or  phosphorus,  but  experience  proves 
that  the  content  of  phosphorus  in  the  steel  will  be  determined  by 
the  initial  content  in  the  charge.  It  is  true  that  acid  open-hearth 
slag  may  contain  some  phosphorus,  and  I  have  found  one  case  where 
it  held  0.04  per  cent.,  but  it  would  require  a  higher  percentage  than 
this  to  make  a  difference  in  the  metal  that  could  be  detected  by 
ordinary  analysis,  so  that  it  must  be  assumed  that  every  molecule 
of  phosphorus  in  the  pig-iron,  scrap  and  ore  will  appear  in  the 
finished  metal. 

The  percentage  of  sulphur  cannot  be  predicted  with  precision. 
Traces  of  this  element  may  be  burned  during  melting  and  pass 
away  as  sulphurous  anhydride,  but  the  proportion  eliminated  is 
small.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  tendency  to  absorb  sulphur 
from  the  flame,  and  with  bad  coal,  and  especially  when  the  slow 
working  of  the  furnace  renders  it  necessary  to  expose  the  charge  to 
the  gases  for  a  long  time,  the  amount  thus  absorbed  may  be  ruinous. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  addition  of  lime  in  the  producer 
might  retain  at  least  a  part  of  the  sulphur  in  the  ashes  of  the 
producer,  but  it  would  give  trouble  by  making  a  fusible  ash.  The 
ore  is  also  a  source  of  contamination,  for  it  generally  contains 
pyrites.  As  the  ore  floats  on  the  bath  some  sulphur  may  be  oxi- 
dized above  the  surface  and  the  products  pass  away  with  the  flame, 
but  the  remainder  will  be  absorbed  by  the  bath. 

SEC.  Xi. — Tests. — The  condition  and  nature  of  the  metal  and 
slag  are  determined  by  taking  samples  from  the  furnace  by  means 
of  a  small  ladle  and  casting  test-ingots  with  a  cross-section  about 
one  inch  square.  These  are  chilled  in  water  and  broken,  and  the 


188  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

carbon  is  estimated  from  the  appearance  of  the  fracture.  The  re- 
liability of  such  a  determination  depends  upon  the  constancy  of  the 
conditions  of  casting  and  chilling,  and  the  expertness  of  the  judge,, 
but,  roughly  speaking,  the  content  can  be  ascertained  within  10  per 
cent,  of  the  true  amount. 

SEC.  Xj. — Recarburization. — When  the  desired  point  has  been 
reached  the  recarburizer  is  added,  being  almost  invariably  used  in 
a  solid  state.  It  is  generally  heated  red  hot,  but  this  is  not  essen- 
tial, for,  in  making  structural  steel,  "ferro"  containing  80  per  cent, 
of  manganese  is  used  almost  exclusively,  and  the  weight  of  the  ad- 
dition is  so  small  that  it  chilis  the  bath  only  slightly.  The  ferro 
may  be  added  to  the  metal  while  in  the  furnace,  and  this  method 
has  the  advantage  that  the  bath  can  be  thoroughly  stirred  after  the 
recarburizer  has  melted,  but  it  has  the  disadvantage  that  during 
the  time  the  last  pieces  are  fusing,  the  portions  which  melted  first 
are  losing  their  manganese  to  the  oxygen  of  the  slag  and  flame.  In 
a  hot  furnace  this  action  is  very  rapid,  and  although  the  entire  ad- 
dition may  melt  in  less  than  a  minute,  a  considerable  proportion  of 
manganese  is  lost  by  oxidation.  When  the  recarburizer  is  added  in 
the  ladle,  the  latter  action  will  not  occur,  but  there  will  be  a  cer- 
tain loss  from  the  oxide  of  iron  contained  in  the  metal,  and  the 
function  of  the  recarburizer  is  to  remove  this  oxygen.  The  loss  of 
manganese  will  be  the  same  whether  the  addition  is  made  in  the 
furnace  or  in  the  ladle,  but  in  the  latter  case  the  effects  of  slag 
and  flame  are  absent.  Hence,  it  follows  that  the  loss  will  be  more 
regular  when  recarburization  is  performed  in  the  ladle,  and  the 
content  of  manganese  in  the  steel  more  nearly  alike  throughout  a 
series  of  heats. 

The  manganese  lost  in  recarburization  not  only  varies  with  the 
way  in  which  it  is  added,  but  also  with  the  percentage  of  carbon 
and  manganese  in  the  bath.  The  amount  of  oxide  in  the  bath  is 
less  with  high  than  with  low  carbons,  and  so  the  loss  of  manganese 
decreases  as  higher  steel  is  made.  Moreover,  the  loss  is  less  with 
smaller  percentages  of  manganese,  so  that  if  1.00  per  cent,  of  Mn 
be  added  there  will  be  .60  per  cent,  in  the  metal,  being  a  loss  of 
.40  per  cent.,  while  if  .50  per  cent,  be  added  the  steel  will  have  .40 
per  cent.,  being  a  loss  of  only  .20  per  cent.  It  seems  as  if  with  the 
lower  manganese  the  action  was  not  perfect,  and  that  with  each 
successive  increment  of  ferro  an  additional  atom  of  oxygen  is  re- 


THE   ACID  OPEN-HEABTH    PROCESS.  189 

moved.     This  fact  holds  good  whether  the  recarburizer  is  added  in 
the  furnace  or  in  the  ladle. 

The  fear  of  non-homogeneity  under  the  practice  of  adding  the 
ferro  in  the  ladle  is  not  entirely  unfounded  when  small  heats  are 
made  and  the  metal  is  not  hot,  but  when  charges  of  20  to  50  tons 
of  hot  steel  are  properly  poured  and  recarburized,  the  steel  is  uni- 
form. When  metal  is  made  high  in  manganese,  certain  precautions 
must  be  taken;  but  in  ordinary  structural  steels,  when  the  maji- 
ganese  runs  below  .65  per  cent.,  there  is  an  all-pervading  action 
throughout  the  melted  mass  which  dispels  all  thought  of  non-homo- 
geneity. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE  BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 

SECTION  XIa. — Construction  of  a  basic  open-hearth  bottom. — 
The  basic  open-hearth  process  consists  in  treating  either  melted  or 
solid  pig-iron,  or  a  mixture  of  pig-iron  and  low-carbon  metal,  upon 
a  hearth  of  dolomite,  lime,  magnesite,  or  other  basic  or  passive  ma- 
terial, and  converting  it  into  steel  in  the  presence  of  a  stable  basic 
slag  by  the  action  of  the  flame,  with  or  without  the  use  of  ore,  and 
by  the  addition  of  the  proper  recarburizers,  the  operation  being  so 
conducted  that  the  product  is  cast  in  a  fluid  state. 

The  current  belief  that  the  lining  is  the  dephosphorizing  agent 
is  a  mistake,  for  the  highest  function  of  the  hearth  is  to  remain 
unaffected  and  allow  the  components  of  the  charge  to  work  out 
their  own  destiny.  In  practice  it  is  never  possible  to  construct 
either  an  acid  or  a  basic  bottom  so  that  it  is  entirely  passive,  for  a 
slag  which  is  viscous  with  silica  will  slowly  attack  a  pure  sand  bot- 
tom, and  a  cinder  which  is  mucilaginous  with  lime  will  gradually 
eat  into  a  dolomite  hearth.  For  the  construction  of  a  permanent 
bottom,  carbon,  bauxite,  lime,  chromite,  magnesite  and  dolomite 
have  been  used.  Magnesite  gives  the  best  results,  but  is  costly,  and 
well-burned  dolomitic  limestone  answers  well  enough.  In  some 
places  the  stone  is  used  in  its  natural  state,  but  the  better  plan  is 
to  roast  it  in  a  cupola  and  then  grind  and  mix  with  tar.  The  roof 
and  walls  being  made  of  silica  bricks,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  joint 
of  chromite  or  other  passive  material  between  the  acid  and  the  basic 
work;  but  at  the  intense  heat  of  a  melting  furnace,  and  in  an  at- 
mosphere charged  with  spray  of  iron  oxide,  almost  any  two  sub- 
stances will  unite  if  pressed  together,  so  that  the  joint  which  bears 
the  superposed  brickwork  must  be  shielded  from  the  direct  action 
of  the  flame. 

SEC.  Xlb. — Functions  of  the  basic  additions. — Given  a  hearth 
capable  of  resisting  the  action  of  metal  and  slag,  the.  problem  of 

190 


THE  BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS.  191 

the  basic  furnace  is  the  melting  and  decarburization  of  iron  as  in 
acid  practice,  with  the  additional  duty  of  removing  a  reasonable 
quantity  of  phosphorus  and  some  sulphur.  Under  the  influence  of 
the  flame  and  ore,  the  phosphorus  is  converted  into  phosphoric  acid 
(P205)  which  can  unite  with  iron  oxide,  but  the  conjunction  will 
be  only  temporary,  for  the  carbon  of  the  bath  reduces  the  iron,  and 
then  the  phosphorus  in  its  turn  is  robbed  of  its  oxygen  and  re- 
turned to  the  bath.  But  if  lime  is  added,  the  acid  can  form  phos- 
phate of  calcium,  and  since  the  oxide  of  this  element  cannot  be  re- 
duced by  the  carbonic  oxide,  the  phosphorus  is  never  left  without 
a  partner,  but  forms  part  of  a  stable  cinder.  This  oxide  of  calcium 
is  sometimes  added  in  the  form  of  limestone,  the  carbonic  acid  be- 
ing expelled  in  the  furnace.  This  entails  a  considerable  absorption 
of  heat,  and  the  melting  must  be  delayed  accordingly ;  but  it  has  a 
compensating  advantage  in  that  the  gas,  .in  bubbling  through  the 
metal,  keeps  up  a  motion  which  facilitates  chemical  action,  and 
also  that  the  carbonic  acid  gives  up  part  of  its  oxygen  to  the  silicon, 
phosphorus,  carbon  and  iron. 

This  oxidizing  action  allows  the  use  of  a  greater  proportion  of 
pig-iron,  and  aids  in  the  removal  of  phosphorus,  so  that  there  seems 
to  be  good  ground  for  using  the  stone  in  its  natural  state.  I  be- 
lieve, however,  that  it  is  more  economical  to  put  it  through  a  pre- 
liminary roasting  and  reduce  by  nearly  50  per  cent,  the  amount  of 
basic  addition,  for  the  rate  of  melting  is  thereby  hastened,  while 
the  oxidizing  effect  can  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  ore.  Ore  costs 
more  than  stone,  but  its  full  value  is  returned  in  metallic  iron,  and, 
moreover,  it  is  possible  to  use  a  greater  proportion  of  pig-iron  on 
account  of  the  reduced  quantity  of  gas  evolved,  for  the  oxidation 
done  during  melting,  either  by  stone  or  ore,  is  limited  by  the  froth- 
ing of  the  stock,  and  this  is  determined  by  the  amount  of  gas  evolved 
in  the  reactions.  Therefore,  if  ore  produces  less  gas  than  stone  in 
oxidizing  a  given  quantity  of  carbon,  then  more  pig  can  be  used 
with  ore  than  with  stone.  The  reactions  are  as  follows : 

Limestone,  CaCOs+C=2  CO+CaO. 
Ore,  Fe2Oa+3  C=3  CO+2  Fe. 

Thus  two  volumes  of  gas  are  formed  for  each  atom  of  carbon  when 
stone  is  used,  while  only  one  volume  is  produced  with  ore. 

The  available  oxygen  in  the  ore  is  nearly  twice  as  much  as  in 


192  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

the  same  weight  of  stone,  so  that  by  using  500  pounds  of  burned 
lime  and  500  pounds  of  ore,  there  will  be  the  same  quantity  of  basic 
earth,  and  the  same  oxidizing  effect,  as  with  1000  pounds  of  raw 
stone,  while  there  will  be  only  half  as  much  gas  produced  with  a 
contribution  of  300  pounds  of  metallic  iron. 

SEC.  XIc. — Use  of  ore  with  the  charge. — The  ore  and  lime  are 
put  into  the  furnace  with  the  pig  and  scrap,  so  that  the  hearth 
will  be  protected  during  the  melting  and  an  active  cinder  be  at 
work  continuously.  When  high-phosphorus  stock  is  used,  the 
amount  of  oxidation  for  a  given  weight  of  pig-iron  is  much  greater 
than  in  acid  practice.  Thus,  in  10,000  pounds  of  low-phosphorus 
iron  for  an  acid  open  hearth,  the  oxygen-absorbing  power  is  as 
follows : 

1.0  per  cent.  silicon=100  pounds  Si,  absorbing  114.3  pounds  oxygen. 
3.5  per  cent.  carbon=350  pounds  C,  absorbing  466.7  pounds  oxygen. 

Total  oxygen  absorption,  581.0  pounds 

If  pig-iron  be  used  in  basic  work  with  the  same  content  of  silicon 
and  carbon,  but  with  the  addition  of  1.00  per  cent,  of  phosphorus, 
there  will  be  an  additional  absorptive  power  of  129  pounds  of  oxy- 
gen, or  a  total  of  710  pounds.  With  the  first  mixture  there  would 
be  40  per  cent,  of  the  work  done  during  the  melting  (as  shown  in 
the  preceding  chapter),  so  after  melting  there  would  remain  60 
per  cent,  of  581,  or  349  pounds  of  oxygen  to  be  given  to  the  bath. 
In  the  second  case,  the  presence  of  phosphorus  will  not  cause  a 
greater  action  during  melting,  but  the  absorption  will  be  the  same, 
so  that,  after  melting,  the  phosphoric  bath  .will  have  an  absorptive 
power  of  349+129=478  pounds  of  oxygen,  and  there  will  be  one- 
third  more  work  to  do  during  the  period  of  oreing.  These  figures 
explain  why  there  is  more  oxidation  to  do  with  phosphoric  iron 
than  with  good  stock,  so  that  it  is  advisable  to  use  ore  mixed  with 
the  charge  to  perform  a  part  of  the  work  during  fusion.  On  an 
acid  hearth  ore  is  sometimes  added  with  the  charge,  but  there  is 
danger  of  this  oxide  uniting  with  the  sand  of  the  hearth.  In  basic 
practice  the  ore  can  do  no  harm,,  for  it  has  little  effect  on  the  dolo- 
mite. 

SEC.  Xld. — Chemical  history  when  no  ore  is  mixed  with  the 
stock. — The  addition  of  ore  is  not  necessary  when  sufficient  scrap 
is  available,  for  the  flame  will  supply  oxygen  to  the  metalloids,  as 


THE   BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 


193 


shown  by  Table  XI- A,  which  gives  the  average  of  17  heats  when  no 
ore  was  used  with  the  charge,,  and  when  tests  of  metal  and  slag 
were  taken  at  four  different  epochs.  The  heats  were  similar  in 
character,  and  the  mixing  of  slags  and  metals  to  obtain  average  re- 


TABLE  XI-A. 
Slag  and  Metal  from  Seventeen  Basic  Heats. 


Test. 

Metal. 

Slag. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

C. 

Si. 

Mn. 

P. 

SiO,. 

MnO. 

CaO. 

MgO. 

FeO. 

P.O. 

A 
B 
C 
D 

.71 
.34 
.12 
.16 

.06 
.01 
.01 

.01 

.83 
.25 

.22 
.49 

.046 
.022 
.013 
.018 

19.21 
16.37 
15.08 
15.75 

11.12 
10.36 
9.01 
14.11 

42.16 
42.78 
42.16 
89.05 

6.64 
7.87 
8.45 
10.40 

13.68 
16.29 
20.34 
16.65 

5.149 

4.848 
3.850 
2.961 

suits  is  justifiable.  Each  charge  was  made  up  of  one-half  pig- 
iron  and  one-half  steel  scrap,  and  contained  2.00  per  cent,  carbon, 
0.40  per  cent,  silicon,  0.85  per  cent,  manganese,  and  0.20  per  cent, 
phosphorus.  Tests  of  slag  and  metal  were  taken  as  follows : 

(A)  After  complete  fusion  of  metal  without  ore. 

(B)  At  beginning  of  boil,  after  the  addition  of  1965  pounds  of 
ore  per  heat. 

(C)  When  the  bath  was  ready  for  the  recarburizer,  775  pounds 
of  ore  being  added  per  heat  between  tests  B  and  C. 

(D)  After  casting. 

SEC.  Xle. — Elimination  of  phosphorus  during  melting. — The 
elimination  of  phosphorus  during  melting  is  a  variable,  depending 
upon  the  conditions  of  oxidation  and  the  ability  of  the  slag  to 
absorb  the  phosphoric  acid.  Table  XI-B  will  show  the  propor- 
tions of  carbon  and  phosphorus  that  are  oxidized  during  melting 
under  different  kinds  of  practice. 

SEC.  Xlf. — Composition  of  slag  after  melting. — Neither  the  per- 
centage nor  the  amount  of  elimination  during  melting  is  a  matter 
of  vital  importance,  for  whatever  is  left  undone  during  that  period 
will  be  completed  before  tapping.  In  this  removal  of  phosphorus 
after  fusion,  the  composition  of  the  slag  is  the  important  factor, 
and  this  will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  silica,  and  upon  the  lime 
added.  The  supply  of  silica  will  determine  the  quantity  of  lime, 
and  also  the  weight  of  the  resultant  cinder.  If  the  final  slag  is  to 


194 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


contain  16.67  per  cent,  of  Si02  and  50  per  cent.  CaO,  the  basic  ad- 
ditions  must  contain  =three  times  as  much  available  CaO 


as  there  is  Si02  in  the  charge,  and  the  final  slag  will  weigh  six 
times  as  much. 

TABLE  XI-B. 

Elimination  of  Phosphorus  and  Carbon  During  Melting. 


Pounds  of  ore 
charged  with 
stock,  per  ton 
of  metal. 

Number  of  heats 
in  group. 

Composition  of  metal,  per  cent. 

Composition  of 
slag  after  melting; 
per  cent. 

Phosphorus. 

Carbon. 

"3 

M 

After 
melting. 

HI 

usa 

Initial. 

After 
melting. 

Per  cent, 
elimi- 
nated. 

SiO3. 

FeO. 

none, 
none, 
none, 
none. 
800 
115 
140 

17 

9 
9 
8 
6 

7 

0.20 
1.36 
0.19 
0.19 
2.50 
0.55 
0.55 

.046 
.594 
.023 
.072 
.744 
.274 
.402 

77 
57 
88 
62 
70 
50 
27 

2.00 
1.50 
1.80 
1.80 
8.50 
2.90 
2.90 

.71 

.60 
.27 
.78 
.59 
1.00 
1.48 

65 
60 
85 
57 
83 
66 
49 

19.21 
14.90 
15.55 
19.98 
11.96 
80.73 
34.22 

13.68 
und. 
19.68 
12.20 
8.61 
10.71 
10.95 

The  composition  of  the  cinder  differs  considerably,  for  when, 
good  stock  is  used  it  may  contain  over  20  per  cent,  of  silica  and 
still  be  capable  of  eliminating  the  impurities,  but  when  much  phos- 
phorus is  to  be  removed,  the  silica  must  sometimes  be  as  low  as  1£ 
per  cent.,  the  proportion  of  CaO  usually  varying  inversely  with 
the  silica.  The  amount  of  lime  which  can  be  taken  up  is,  limited,, 
for  at  a  certain  point  the  slag  becomes  viscous,  particularly  when 
the  scorification  of  the  hearth  supplies  magnesia.  Allowing  for  10 
per  cent,  of  MnO,  8  per  cent.  MgO,  18  per  cent.  FeO,  and  4  per  cent. 
A1203,  etc.,  it  may  be  stated  that  with  12  per  cent,  of  Si02  there 
will  be  48  per  cent.  CaO,  while  with  20  per  cent,  of  Si02  there  will 
be  40  per  cent.  CaO.  In  the  attainment  of  this  ratio  between  SiO^ 
and  CaO  the  purity  of  the  lime  is  an  important  factor,  especially 
when  a  slag  low  in  silica  is  needed.  Ordinary  lime  contains  a  cer- 
tain percentage  of  C02,  and  a  certain  amount  of  moisture,  so  that 
with  the  usual  proportions  of  earthy  impurities  it  will  average 
about  80  per  cent,  of  CaO. 

SEC.  Xlg. — Relative  value  of  limes. — The  content  of  Si02  in  the 
lime  depends  upon  the  kind  of  stone  used  and  the  care  with  which 
the  ash  of  the  fuel  is  kept  separate.  When  a  choice  must  be  made 
between  a  cheap  and  impure  lime  and  a  more  costly  article  low  in 
silica,  the  value  of  each  may  be  calculated  by  finding  the  excess  of 


THE  BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 


195 


CaO  over  what  is  necessary  to  satisfy  its  own  acids.  Two  repre- 
sentative limes  are  assumed  in  Table  XI-C,  both  containing  80  per 
cent.  CaO,  one  with  3  per  cent,  and  the  other  with  7  per  cent.  Si02, 
and  the  computation  is  made  for  two  different  slags.  The  pure 
lime  is  worth  31  per  cent  more  than  the  impure  when  a  calcareous 
slag  is  to  be  formed,  but  if  a  more  silicious  cinder  is  permissible, 
as  in  the  case  when  little  phosphorus  is  to  be  removed,  the  pure 
lime  is  worth  only  12  per  cent,  more., 


TABLE  XI-C. 
Relative  Values  of  Limes  with  3.0  and  7.0  Per  Cent,  of  Si02. 


SiOjinslag;  percent  

Slag  A, 

SlagB. 

Lime 
with  3  per 
cent.  SiO,. 

Lime 
with  7  per 
cent.  SiO,. 

Lime 
with  3  per 
cent.  SiO,. 

Lime 
with  7  per 
cent.  SiO,. 

12.0 
48.0 
4.0 
80.0 

12.0 

12.0 
48.0 
4.0 
80.0 

20.0 
40.0 
2.0 
80.0 

20.0 
40.0 
2.0 
80.0 

Ratio  CaO  to  SiO2  in  slag  

Total  CaO  in  lime;  per  cent  
CaO  in  the  lime  which  is  needed  to 
satisfy  its  own  silica;  percent. 
4.0x3.0  .....      

4.0x7.0     

28.0 

20x30 

6.0 

2.0X7.0  

14.0 

CaO  available  for  foreign  silica;  per 
cent         

68.0 
1.31 

62.0 
1.00 

74.0 
1.12 

66.0 
1.00 

Relative  value  

SEC.  Xlh. — Basic  open-hearth  slags. — The  proportions  of  Si02 
and  CaO  are  the  main  points  in  a  basic  slag,  but  other  factors  exer- 
cise an  important  influence  upon  the  result.  Magnesia  is  always 
present  from  the  wear  of  the  hearth,  but  is  undesirable,  as  it  makes 
the  slag  viscous  and  has  less  power  to  hold  phosphorus  than  lime. 
Alumina  comes  from  the  impurities  in  the  dolomite,  lime  and  ore, 
but  being  usually  in  small  amount  may  be  neglected.  Manganese 
is  usually  present  in  the  stock  and  serves  a  useful  purpose  in  con- 
ferring fluidity  upon  the  slag.  It  is  also  valuable  in  removing  sul- 
phur by  the  formation  of  sulphide  of  manganese,  which  floats  to 
the  top  of  the  metal,  where  the  sulphur,  being  exposed  to  the  flame, 
is  oxidized  and  passes  away  with  the  waste  gases.  This  action  is 
uncertain,  and  the  explanation  is  somewhat  a  matter  of  supposition, 
but  it  seems  well  proven  that  manganese,  either  metallic  or  in  the 
form  of  ore,  aids  in  the  elimination  of  sulphur,  and  the  above 


196  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

theory  is  in  accord  with  the  purification  of  pig-iron  by  the  addition 
of  spiegel. 

All  the  components  enumerated  are  fixed  and  determined  agents 
in  the  transactions.  Manganese  is  sometimes  reduced  from  the  slag 
by  the  carbon  of  the  bath,  and  a  certain  percentage  may  remain  un- 
oxidized  in  the  metal,  but  aside  from  this  the  oxides  of  aluminum, 
silicon  and  manganese  exist  in  the  slag  in  just  the  quantities  that 
were  added  with  the  stock ;  but  there  are  three  other  constituents — 
iron  oxide,  phosphoric  acid,  and  sulphur — whose  presence  in  the 
slag  is  determined  by  the  conditions  of  manipulation  and  by  the 
proportions  of  other  constituents.  Iron  oxide  is  always  present,  the 
exact  amount  depending  upon  the  reducing  power  of  the  carbon 
of  the  bath.  It  matters  not  whether  ore  is  added  before  melting, 
after  melting,  or  not  at  all;  there  is  a  certain  content  of  FeO 
which  is  demanded  by  existing  conditions,  and  that  certain  content 
will  be  present.  An  exception  must  be  made  in  the  case  of  ore 
added  after  the  carbon  is  nearly  eliminated,  but  aside  from  this 
there  will  be  just  as  much  iron  oxide  lost  in  the  slag  when  no  ore 
is  used  as  when  it  has  been  added  in  proper  quantity,  and,  therefore, 
all  the  ore  is  clear  gain. 

The  presence  of  iron  oxide  in  either  acid  or  basic  slag  is  an 
anomaly,  for  in  an  acid  charge  the  oxidation  of  the  silicon  and 
manganese  would  be  sufficient  to  produce  a  slag  without  other  aid. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  a  force  at  work  in  an  acid  furnace  which  is 
constantly  creating  a  slag  with  about  50  per  cent.  Si02  and  45  per 
cent.  FeO+MnO.  If  more  FeO  is  added,  the  carbon  of  the  metal 
seizes  the  oxygen  and  sets  free  metallic  iron,  but  the  same  powerful 
action  which  so  quickly  accomplishes  the  destruction  of  this  excess 
is  not  able  to  pass  much  below  the  limit,  even  by  exposure  for  hours, 
without  any  addition  of  ore.  There  is  an  automatic  adjustment  to 
a  fixed  status  which  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  phenomena  of 
chemical  physics.  The  only  explanation  I  can  offer  is  that  forces 
work  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance,  so  that  a  slag  will  seek  to 
combine  with  anything  that  promotes  fusibility.  If  given  the  op- 
portunity, a  silicious  slag  absorbs  either  bases  or  silica,  but  prefer- 
ably bases,  and  particularly  those  which  impart  the  greatest  fluidity. 
This  action  tends  to  continue  indefinitely,  and  in  an  acid  furnace, 
if  the  heat  is  not  tapped  after  the  carbon  is  burned,  the  formation 
of  iron  oxide  will  go  on  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  fluidity  of  the 


THE  BASIC  OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS.  197 

slag  will  be  increased,  in  spite  of  the  cutting  of  the  hearth.  This 
latter  action  is  a  correcting  condition,  but  is  not  the  controlling  in- 
fluence, as  is  proven  by  the  small  amount  of  scorification  of  the 
hearth  during  oreing.  The  real  determinant  is  the  carbon  of  the 
bath,  and  there  is  an  equilibrium  between  the  oxidizing  power  of 
the  flame,  the  reducing  power  of  the  metalloids,  and  the  struggle 
after  fluidity. 

In  the  basic  process  there  is  difficulty  in  making  a  slag  entirely 
of  silicate  of  lime,  for  this  is  more  viscous  than  a  slag  of  the  same 
percentage  of  silica  containing  other  bases;  there  is  a  tendency, 
therefore,  toward  the  absorption  of  iron  oxide,  but  this  is  opposed 
by  a  contest  on  the  part  of  the  lime  for  the  possession  of  the  silica, 
and  the  result  is  a  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  iron  when  there 
is  an  increase  in  lime.  Inasmuch  as  the  substitution  of  CaO  for 
FeO  produces  a  more  viscous  slag,  this  would  seem  to  invalidate  the 
theory  just  advanced,  but  the  effect  is  due  not  to  a  change  in  the 
law,  but  to  the  action  of  stronger  forces.  The  more  bases  present, 
the  less  necessity  is  there  for  an  additional  amount,  since  the  weight 
of  silica  necessarily  remains  constant,  and,  as  the  reducing  action 
of  the  metalloids  comes  into  play,  the  slag  begins  to  be  robbed  of 
its  iron,  which  at  the  same  time  is  its  most  reducible  and  its  most 
fusible  base.  The  presence  of  oxide  of  manganese  in  the  slag  modi- 
fies without  completely  changing  the  relations  just  described,  for, 
by  furnishing  an  additional  base  and  imparting  greater  fluidity,  it 
tends  to  render  the  presence  of  iron  oxide  less  necessary. 

SEC.  Xli. — Automatic  regulation  of  fluidity. — Fluidity  is  of  vi- 
tal practical  importance,  for  the  slag  must  run  freely  from  the  fur- 
nace, else  the  hearth  will  soon  be  filled;  furthermore,  the  slag  must 
be  so  basic  that  the  hearth  is  not  scorified.  The  two  conditions, 
fluidity  and  basicity,  determine  the  nature  and  amount  of  the 
basic  additions,  for  the  sum  of  CaO  and  MgO  cannot  much  exceed 
55  per  cent,  without  producing  a  viscous  cinder,  neither  can  the 
percentage  of  Si02  fall  below  10  per  cent.,  unless  unusual  amounts 
are  present  of  the  oxides  of  iron,  manganese,  or  phosphorus.  This 
theory  of  the  automatic  regulation  of  fluidity  seems  to  account  for 
a  curious  relation  between  the  content  of  Si02  and  FeO  in  a  large 
number  of  basic  slags,  which  are  grouped  in  Table  XI-D. 

The  phosphoric  acid  was  not  determined,  but  it  may  be  taken  for 
granted  that  an  increased  proportion  of  phosphorus  in  the  charge 


198 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


will  give  higher  phosphoric  acid  in  the  cinder,  and  the  table  shows 
that  in  the  case  of  high  phosphorus  the  combined  Si02  and  FeO 
runs  about  27.5  per  cent.,  with  medium  phosphorus  about  35  per 

TABLE  XI-D. 
Relation  Between  Si02  and  FeO  in  Basic  Open-Hearth  Slags.* 


a 

C3  o 

|$ 

o 

Composition  of  slag; 

I| 

ooT 

la 

Limits  of  SiO,  in  slag, 

per  cent. 

1 

«M    S 

oto 

f'fi 

*|.Sd 

per  cent. 

g 

65 

s  * 

2^0 

o 

fi 

P* 

SiO2. 

FeO. 

SiOa.+  FeO. 

i 

2 

8 
10 

1.35 
1.35 

.068 
.088 

below  10 
above  10 

9.20 
12.54 

18.45 
14.93 

27.65] 
27.47 

8 

15 

0.19 

.016 

8  to  12  incl. 

10.71 

25.31 

36.02 

4 

16 

0.19 

.017 

13  to  14  incl. 

18.84 

21.81 

85.65 

5 

19 

0.19 

.020 

15  to  16  incl. 

15.90 

18.21 

84.11 

6 

13 

0.19 

.022 

17 

17.32 

17.97 

85.29 

7 

16 

0.19 

.025 

18  to  19  incl. 

18.94 

15.50 

84.44 

8 

12 

0.19 

.023 

20  to  22  incl. 

21.57 

13.58 

85.15 

9 

7 

0.19 

.059 

23  to  27  incl. 

25.48 

9.04 

84.52 

10 

16 

0.10 

.014 

10  to  13  incl. 

12.28 

22.18 

84.46 

11 

14 

0.10 

.012 

14 

14.47 

22.78 

87.25 

12 

15 

0.10 

.016 

15 

15.54 

21.10 

86.64 

13 

20 

0.10 

.017. 

16 

16.46 

21.32 

87.78 

14 

19 

0.10 

.015 

17 

17.47 

19.24 

86.71 

15 

12 

0.10 

.012 

18 

18.32 

20.02 

88.34 

16 

11 

0.10 

.018 

19 

19.41 

17.66 

87.07 

17 

14 

0.10 

.020 

20 

20.53 

14.92 

85.45 

18 

21 

0.10 

.016 

21 

21.51 

14.58 

86.09 

19 

17 

0.10 

.019 

22 

22.46 

13.41 

35.87 

20 

11 

0.10 

.022 

23 

23.41 

12.40 

85.81 

21 

9 

0.10 

.028 

24 

24.48 

11.05 

85.53 

22 

12 

0.10 

.042 

25  to  29  incl. 

26.37 

10.58 

86.95 

cent.,  and  with  low  phosphorus  about  36  to  37  per  cent.  A  differ- 
ence in  manipulation  would  change  the  absolute  percentages,  but 
the  attainment  of  a  certain  definite  content  of  FeO-j-Si02  seems 
assured.  This  conclusion  is  verified  by  an  examination  of  the  in- 

TABLE  XI-E. 
Maxima  and  Minima  in  Individual  Heats  in  Table  XI-D. 


Initial  phos- 
phorus in 
charge;  per 
cent. 

Slag  showing 
maximum  SiOa; 
per  cent. 

Slag  showing 
maximum  FeO; 
per  cent. 

SiO9. 

FeO. 

SiO,. 

FeO. 

1.35 
0.19 
0.10 

16.50 
27.35 
29.15 

6.99 
6.63 
8.27 

9.46 
9.53 
15.66 

27.72 
84.47 
84.36 

*  The  full  records  of  the  above  charges  will  be  found  in  Sec.  45  of  my  paper 
on  The  Open-Hearth  Process,  in  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  436  et  seq. 


THE  BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS.  199 

dividuals  of  the  original  records,  for  it  is  found  that  low  Si02  is 
accompanied  by  high  FeO,  and  vice  versa.  This  is  shown  by  Table 
XI-E,  which  is  composed  of  the  extreme  cases  of  high  and  low 
percentages  of  Si02  and  FeO,  the  individual  heats  which  compose 
the  groups  in  Table  XI-D. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  suppose  that  an  increase  in  Si02  has  re- 
duced the  FeO  by  simple  dilution,  for  a  reduction  in  FeO  from  20 
per  cent,  to  10  per  cent,  would  imply  a  permanent  addition  of 
Si02  equal  to  the  entire  volume  of  the  slag,  and  this  is  absurd.  The 
conclusion  seems  inevitable  that  Si02  and  FeO  replace  one  another 
in  some  way,  and  that  one  fulfils  some  function  of  the  other.  As 
FeO  is  basic  and  Si02  is  acid,  this  function  cannot  be  related  to 
the  basicity  of  the  slag,  and  the  only  explanation  which  suggests 
itself  is  that  both  confer  fluidity  and  that  there  is  an  automatic 
regulation  of  this  quality  in  accordance  with  the  theory  before 
elaborated. 

SEC.  XIj. — Determining  chemical  conditions. — Just  as  oxide  of 
iron  exists  in  slag  in  accordance  with  favorable  conditions  rather 
than  with  the  initial  character  of  the  charge,  so  the  content  of  phos- 
phoric acid  is  governed  by  the  chemical  environment.  The  capacity 
of  a  cinder  for  phosphoric  acid  increases  with  the  proportion  of 
bases  it  contains,  and  lime  is  the  most  potent  of  these  bases,  but  a 
certain  fluidity  is  necessary,  since  a  slag  which  is  viscous  does  not 
seem  to  be  as  effective  as  one  which  is  rendered  fluid  by  oxide  of 
manganese  or  iron.  Thus,  although  lime  is  immeasurably  superior 
to  oxide  of  iron  as  a  dephosphorizing  agent,  a  slag  containing  a 
higher  percentage  of  FeO  is  more  efficient.* 

One  of  the  more  important  determinants  of  the  capacity  of  slag 
for  phosphorus  is  the  phosphorus  itself.  The  absorption  of  phos- 
phoric acid  is  not  a  case  of  simple  solution,  like  that  of  salt  in 
water,  but  a  union  of  acid  and  base,  and  each  molecule  of  phos- 
phoric acid  which  enters  the  slag  decreases  its  capacity  for  more. 
It  is  impossible  to  prove  this  by  ordinary  averages,  for  the  addi- 
tions of  lime  are  regulated  by  the  demands  of  the  silica  rather  than 
of  the  phosphorus,  and  it  is  a  coincidence  if  the  maximum  content 
of  phosphoric  acid  is  present.  Moreover,  the  determining  condi- 
tions vary  with  each  particular  combination  of  the  remaining  ele- 
ments, with  the  intensity  of  the  reducing  conditions,  and  the  dura- 

*  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  446. 


200 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


tion  of  the  exposure.  Thus  Table  XI-F  gives  examples  of  slags 
produced  under  abnormal  conditions ;  the  samples  are  from  an  open- 
hearth  "furnace  soon  after  melting,  and  before  an  extreme  tempera- 
ture had  been  reached  to  give  the  carbon  of  the  bath  its  full 
reducing  power. 

TABLE  XI-F. 

Unstable  Basic  Open-Hearth  Slags. 


Slag. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

SiOa. 

P306. 

FeO. 

SiO,.  +  P,OB. 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

87.53 
34.05 
82.45 
80.26 
25.21 
20.60 
17.31 
15.07 

2.01 
3.08 
8.33 
5.99 
8,84 
10.97 
16.60 
23.06 

10.26 
18.45 
9.36 
10.08 
11.88 
10.90 
12.15 
10.53 

39.54 
87.13 
35.78 
86.25 
83.55 
81.57 
33.91 
88.13 

These  slags  are  selected  as  instances  of  high  phosphorus  for  a 
given  silica,  and  are,  therefore,  valueless  as  an  indication  of  what 
may  be  expected  in  practice.  They  show,  however,  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  critical  percentage  of  silica,  since  a  cinder  with  37 
per  cent.  Si02  may  hold  2  per  cent.  P205.  The  slags  in  Table  XI-G 

TABLE  XI-G. 
Normal  Basic  Open-Hearth  Slags. 


Slag. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

S1O,. 

P.OB. 

FeO. 

SiO,.+P,O.. 

1 
2 
3 

20.72 
19.04 
12.40 

6.36 
8.24 
18.78 

16.20 
20.16 
12.60 

27.08 
27.28 
26.13 

are  fairer  examples  of  the  results  of  regular  work.  In  both  Tables 
XI-F  and  XI-G  there  is  a  column  headed  "Si02+P205,"  and  the 
constancy  of  this  total  under  similar  conditions,  even  with  slags  of 
widely  varying  character,  indicates  that  the  total  acid  content  of 
the  slag  is  the  measure  of  its  power  to  absorb  phosphorus. 

SEC.  Xlk. — Elimination  of  sulphur. — A  certain  proportion  of 
phosphorus  is  likely  to  be  volatilized  by  the  heat  and  carried  away 
in  the  waste  gases.  This  renders  futile  any  attempts  to  make  ac- 


THE  BASIC  OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 


201 


curate  quantitative  calculations,  but  otherwise  the  action  is  of  little 
importance,  since  it  cannot  be  relied  on  for  purification  of  the 
metal.  This  volatilization  occurs  in  greater  measure  in  the  case  of 
sulphur,  but  here,  also,  it  is  impracticable  to  eliminate  any  appreci- 
able proportion  by  this  method  alone,  since  volatilization  occurs 
only  from  the  slag,  and  the  action,  therefore,  presupposes  the  trans- 
fer of  sulphur  from  the  metal  to  the  cinder,  and  this  in  turn  pre- 
supposes a  condition  which  will  purify  the  metal  without  the  ex 
post  facto  intervention  of  volatilization. 

Sulphur  can  be  removed  in  at  least  four  ways : 

(1)  By  me,tallic  manganese  and  liquation  of  sulphide  of  man- 
ganese.    The  extent  of  this  reaction  is  uncertain,  but  usually  the 
addition  of  0.60  to  0.75  per  cent,  of  manganese  reduces  the  sul- 
phur content  about  0.01  per  cent. 

(2)  By  manganese  ore,  which,  being  reduced  by  the  metalloids 
of  the  bath,  furnishes  metallic  manganese.  The  ore  should  be  added 
with  the  original  charge,  in  order  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  mixed 
with  the  metal.    It  is  difficult  to  isolate  the  effect  of  this  agent  from 
the  action  of  the  basic  slag  with  which  it  must  be  associated,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  it  aids  in  the  purification. 

(3)  By  a  very  limey  cinder.   In  a  former  paper*  I  gave  the  re- 
sults of  experiments  in  removing  sulphur  by  ordinary  lime  slags. 

TABLE  XI-H. 
Basic  Open-Hearth  Slags  after  Melting. 


Sulphur 

Charge 
Number. 

Initial 
sulphur, 
per  cent. 

in  metal 
after 
melting, 

Composition  of  slag  after  melting,  per  cent. 

per  cent. 

S. 

SiO,. 

FeO. 

CaO. 

MnO. 

1546 

.43 

.28 

.28 

37.53 

10.26 

34.53 

4.66 

1611 

.20 

.14 

.26 

82.63 

10.17 

86.25 

und. 

1608 

.28 

.17 

.22 

81.30 

10.98 

41.45 

und. 

1628 

.20 

.16 

.21 

83.20 

9.45 

und. 

und. 

1648 

.20 

.14 

.21 

84.37 

6.57 

und. 

und. 

1567 

.28 

.18 

.20 

80.26 

10.08 

45.26 

6.42 

1646 

.20 

.15 

.18 

83.97 

11.61 

und. 

und. 

1626 

.20 

.11 

.18 

86.43 

5.04 

und. 

und. 

1564 

.28 

.10 

.17 

82.45 

9.36 

45.05 

5.49 

1555 

.28 

.22 

.14 

80.63 

13.41 

89.17 

7.15 

1680 

.20 

.09 

.14 

25.57       . 

8.01 

und. 

und. 

1606 

.28 

.19 

.12 

85.79 

18.00 

83.13 

nnd. 

1569 

.28 

.19 

.08 

84.05 

18.45 

85.09 

6.25 

The  cinder,  during  melting,  was  kept  high  in  silica  to  economize 
lime,  and  part  of  this  slag  was  removed  after  fusion,  and  fresh  lime 


*  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXH,  p.  446. 


202 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


added.  Notwithstanding  the  high  acid  content,  the  slag,  after  melt- 
ing, held  quite  an  appreciable  proportion  of  sulphur.  The  final 
slag,  being  richer  in  lime,  removed  a  greater  quantity,  and  the  re- 
sults seem  to  show  that,  as  the  silica  decreases,  the  capacity  for  sul- 
phur increases,  but  the  relation  is  not  as  regular  as  might  be 
wished.  The  records  are  given  in  Tables  XI-H  and  XI-I. 

TABLE  XI-I 
Basic  Open-Hearth  Slags  before  adding  Eecarburizer. 


J 

J 

Sulphur,  after 
melting. 

si 

Composition  of  slag  before  adding 
the  recarburizer,  per  cent. 

£f  § 

.5    M 

p<£p£ 

sa 

H 

Slag, 
per  ct. 

Metal, 
per  ct. 

3-28 

S. 

SiOa. 

FeO. 

CaO. 

MnO. 

1608 

.28 

.22 

.17 

.095 

.61 

12.73 

26.91 

43.99 

und. 

1611 

.20 

.26 

.14 

.054 

JH 

10.45 

26.19 

45.85 

und. 

1555 

.28 

.14 

.22 

.086 

.56 

13.78 

26.91 

42.14 

4.86 

1606 

.28 

.12 

.19 

.100 

JM 

12.90 

31.14 

38.58 

und. 

1569 

.28 

.08 

.19 

.089 

.48 

15.90 

18.63 

und. 

und. 

1630 

.20 

.14 

.09 

.062 

.43 

16.26 

19.98 

49.50 

und. 

1546 

.43 

.28 

.28 

.120 

m 

18.67 

24.84 

87.23 

4.44 

1567 

.28 

.20 

.18 

.062 

.83 

14.85 

23.49 

45.74 

4.54 

1564 

.28 

.17 

.10 

.089 

.83 

19.18 

16.11 

49.98 

4.58 

1648 

.20 

.21 

.14 

.090 

.26 

17.97 

23.94 

44.41 

und. 

(4)  By  oxychloride  of  lime.  A  process  has  been  devised  by 
E.  H.  Saniter*  whereby  sulphur  is  eliminated  from  basic  open- 
hearth  metal  by  oxychloride  of  lime.  It  is  important  to  note  that 
"to  attain  this  result  it  is  necessary,  at  an  early  period  after  the 
charge  is  melted,  to  obtain  an  exceedingly  basic  slag,  and  to  add  a 
suitable  quantity  of  calcium  chloride  to  it" ;  and  it  is  specified  that 
"by  a  very  basic  slag  is  not  meant  what  has  hitherto  been  con- 
sidered as  such,  but  a  step  in  advance  of  that  with  about  50  to  60 
per  cent,  of  lime."  This  point  is  also  insisted  upon  by  Stead,t  who 
states  that  the  chloride  is  used  "in  conjunction  with  an  excess  of 
lime  over  and  above  what  is  usually  employed."  He  gives  analyses 
of  slag  and  metal  for  two  charges,  and  a  summary  of  these  is  given 
in  Table  XI-J.  The  results  of  a  more  complete  investigation  of 
one  charge  are  shown  in  Table  XI-K,  the  data  being  taken  from 
a  paper  by  Snelus.J 

*On  a  New  process  for  the  Purification  of  Iron  and  Steel  from  Sulphur.  Journal  I.  and 
8.  /.,  Vol.  II,  1892,  p.  216 ;  also,  A  Supplementary  Paper  on  a  New  Process  on  Desulphuriz- 
ing Iron  and  Steel.  Journal  I.  and  S.  I., Vol.  1, 1893,  p.  73. 

t  On  the  Elimination  of  Sulphur  from  Iron.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  II,  1892,  p.  260. 

$  Report  upon  the  Saniter  Desulphurization  Process.  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1893, 
p.  82. 


THE   BASIC  OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS. 


203 


TABLE  XI-J. 
Elimination  of  Sulphur  by  Calcium  Chloride. 


Heat. 

'  Composition,  per  cent. 

Metal. 

Slag. 

Sulphur. 

After  adding  CaCl,. 

At  time  of  tapping. 

Initial. 

In  steel. 

SiO,. 

CaO. 

S. 

SiO,. 

CaO. 

S. 

1 
2 

.87 
.17 

.047 
.055 

10.75 
14.45 

64.65 
44.84 

1.25 
.53 

10.20 
11.75 

48.98 
47.88 

.65 

.57 

TABLE  XI-K. 
Detailed  Data  on  the  Elimination  of  Sulphur. 

Open-hearth   charge :    80   per   cent,   white    iron,    20    per   cent,    scrap,    the   whole 
averaging  about  .30  sulphur. 


Time  of  taking  sample. 

Composition  of 
metal,  per  cent. 

Composition  of  slag  per  cent. 

C. 

8. 

SiO,. 

CaO. 

S. 

After  complete  fusion 

.20 
.09 
.06 
.10 

.320 
.181 
.093 
.040 

18.30 
15.00 
11.60 
10.80 

49.24 
49.60 
55.64 
57.00 

.815 
.576 
.659 
.645 

1  hour  after  melting  

4  hours  after  melting  
Steel,  5^  hours  after  melting  . 

The  sulphur  after  melting  is  higher  than  the  calculated  initial 
content,  but  this  is  probably  due  to  incorrect  sampling  and  to  the 
absorption  of  sulphur  from  ore  and  gas,  since  the  percentage  of 
sulphur  in  the  slag  shows  that  a  considerable  amount  was  taken 
from  the  metal.  After  melting,  the  carbon  was  reduced  to  .20  per 
cent.,  and  one  hour  later  it  was  .09  per  cent.,  but  it  was  neces- 
sary to  hold  the  charge  in  the  furnace  for  four  and  one-half  hours 
after  complete  decarburization,  and  to  dose  it  with  calcium  chloride 
in  the  proportion  of  50  pounds  to  the  ton  of  metal,  in  order  to  re- 
move the  sulphur,  a  delay  which  is  decidedly  objectionable.  The 
oxychloride,  however,  conferred  fluidity  upon  the  cinder,  and  made 
it  possible  to  carry  as  high  as  57  per  cent,  of  CaO,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  this  increased  mobility  and  corresponding  activity  rendered 
the  lime  more  efficacious  in  absorbing  sulphur. 

A  quantitative  investigation  on  the  slags  from  three  of  the 
charges  given  in  Table  XI-H  showed  that  about  36  per  cent,  of 


204:  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

the  sulphur  was  unaccounted  for,  having  probably  been  carried 
away  in  the  waste  gases.  The  fact  that  both  sulphur  and  phos- 
phorus thus  escape,  in  an  intangible  form  and  in  uncertain  quan- 
tities, renders  quantitative  work  on  basic  slags  very  unsatisfactory. 
Moreover,  a  sample  of  slag  is  not  always  representative,  for  on  some 
heats  portions  of  the  basic  additions  remain  sticking  to  the  hearth, 
while  on  others  old  accumulations  of  such  deposits  dissolve  in  a 
charge  to  which  they  do  not  belong. 

SEC.  XII. — Removal  of  the  slag  after  melting. — When  the  stock 
is  properly  charged,  the  greater  part  of  the  basic  addition  becomes 
an  active  agent  during  the  melting  of  the  charge.  Especially  when 
ore  is  used  the  intense  action  oxidizes  a  considerable  proportion  of 
the  phosphorus  during  the  melting,  and  the  slag,  after  fusion,  con- 
tains oftentimes  a  high  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  idea 
has  occurred  to  numberless  metallurgists  that  this  first  slag  should 
be  removed,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  its  phosphorus  and  silica,  and 
thus  give  the  opportunity  for  a  new  and  purer  slag  having  a  greater 
dephosphorizing  power.  There  are  certain  practical  difficulties  in 
the  way,  for  the  height  of  the  metal  in  the  hearth  is  always  vary- 
ing with  the  filling  of  the  bottom  and  with  the  frothing  of  the 
charge,  so  that  there  is  danger  of  losing  metal  if  a  tap-hole  is  opened 
much  below  the  level  of  the  upper  surface  of  the  slag;  on  the  con- 
trary, if  the  slag  is  tapped  from  its  upper  surface  there  is  no  force 
to  the  stream,  and  it  is  constantly  chilling  as  it  runs.  In  spite  of 
these  troubles,  the  partial  removal  of  the  slag  is  not  uncommon. 
Complete  removal  can  be  accomplished  by  the  use  of  a  tilting  fur- 
nace, for  the  entire  charge  can  be  poured  out  and  only  the  metal 
returned  to  the  hearth. 

SEC.  Xlm. — Automatic  formation  of  a  slag  of  a  given  composi- 
tion.— After  removing  a  large  proportion  of  slag  from  a  heat,  it 
might  appear  to  be  difficult  to  again  construct  a  cinder  of  just  the 
right  composition,  but  the  records  in  Tables  XI-H  and  XI-I  show 
that  such  is  not  the  case,  for,  in  the  heats  there  given,  a  part  of 
the  slag  was  removed  soon  after  melting.  Quite  a  difference  will 
be  found  between  the  first  and  second  slags,  but  the  first  slag  was 
purposely  made  high  in  silica,  in  order  to  save  lime.  When  it  is 
required  to  maintain  a  similar  composition  throughout  the  heat,  it 
can  be  done  in  basic  as  well  as  acid  practice,  as  shown  in  Table 
XI-L.  Four-fifths  of  the  lime  was  added  with  the  charge,  and  the 


THE  BASIC   OPEN-HEARTH  PROCESS.  205 

remainder,  together  with  400  pounds  of  ore,  was  used  after  melt- 
ing, but  in  spite  of  the  incorporation  of  this  basic  material  into  the 
slag  during  the  interval  between  the  two  stages  at  which  the  sam- 
ples were  taken,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  uniform  composition  was 
maintained. 

TABLE  XI-L. 
Slag  Analyses  of  Twenty-seven  Basic  Open-Hearth  Heats. 


Slag. 

Composition,  per  cent. 

SiO,. 

P,0.. 

CaO. 

FeO. 

A.fter  melting  

14.85 
12.40 

15.53 
13.73 

45.07 
45.40 

9.00 
12.60 

Before  tapping  

SEC.  XIn. — Recarburization  and  repliosplioriz&tion. — Recarburi- 
zation  is  carried  on  in  the  same  way  as  in  acid  work.  A  compli- 
cating condition  is  added  when  either  the  stock  or  the  ore  contains 
any  considerable  proportion  of  manganese,  for  the  decarburized 
metal  may  then  hold  as  much  as  .20  or  .30  per  cent,  of  Mn.  Not 
only  must  this  be  allowed  for  in  the  final  addition,  but  the  bath  con- 
tains less  oxygen  under  these  circumstances,  and  there  will  be  less 
loss  of  metallic  manganese  during  the  reaction.  There  is  also  dan- 
ger of  rephosphorization,  or  the  return  of  phosphorus  from  slag  to 
metal.  In  the  basic-Bessemer  this  is  a  source  of  considerable 
trouble,  but  in  the  open-hearth  the  recarburizer  is  almost  always 
added  in  a  solid  state  and  the  metal  probably  contains  less  oxygen, 
so  that  the  reaction  is  less  violent.  Moreover,  during  the  solution 
of  the  ferro,  the  slag  is  at  work  with  its  dephosphorizing  influence, 
so  that  the  sum  total  of  the  reactions  may  even  show  a  decrease  in 
phosphorus.  Other  things  being  equal,  it  would  seem  probable  that 
a  slag  containing  a  high  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  will  hold 
this  component  less  firmly  than  a  purer  cinder,  and  I  have  tried  to 
illustrate  this  point*  by  experiments,  the  results  of  which  may  be 
summarized  as  follows: 

(1)  With  slags  containing  under  5  per  cent.  P205  and  not  over 
20  per  cent.  Si02,  the  rephosphorization  need  not  exceed  .01  nor 
average  over  zero  per  cent. 

(2)  With  slags  containing  from  5  to  10  per  cent.  P205  and  not 

*  The  Open-Hearth  Process.    A.I.M.  £.,  Vol.  XXII,  p.  484. 


206  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

over  19  per  cent.  Si02,  the  rephosphorization  need  not  exceed  .015 
nor  average  over  .005  per  cent. 

(3)  With  slags  containing  from  10  to  15  per  cent.  P205  and  not 
over  17  per  cent.  Si02,  the  rephosphorization  need  not  exceed  .02 
nor  average  over  .005  per  cent. 

(4)  With  slags  containing  from  15  to  20  per  cent.  P205  and  not 
over  12  per  cent.  Si02,  the  rephosphorization  need  not  exceed  .02 
nor  average  over  .01  per  cent. 

In  using  phosphoric  stock  it  is  not  safe  to  presuppose  the  elimi- 
nation of  phosphorus  below  .04  per  cent,  until  the  carbon  has  been 
lowered  to  .08  per  cent.  Hence  to  make  rail  steel  it  is  necessary  to 
eliminate  the  carbon  to  that  point  and  then  add  the  required 
amount  of  recarburizer,  as  in  the  Bessemer  process.  It  is  imprac- 
ticable to  use  melted  spiegel-iron  in  open-hearth  practice,  unless 
there  are  a  great  number  of  furnaces,  because  the  charges  come  so 
irregularly  and  at  such  long  intervals  that  a  cupola  becomes  chilled, 
but  it  has  been  found  possible  to  add  finely  divided  carbon  in  the 
ladle,  its  absorption  by  the  metal  being  so  rapid  that  the  results  are 
quite  regular. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SPECIAL  METHODS  OF  MANUFACTURE. 

SECTION  Xlla. — Low-phosphorus  acid  open-hearth  steel  at  Steel- 
ion. — The  early  history  of  the  open-hearth  in  the  United  States 
is  confined  to  the  making  of  acid  steel,  very  little  basic  metal  being 
made  until  after  1890.  A  large  proportion  of  the  output  went  into 
boiler  plate  and  quite  a  quantity  into  forgings,  while  there  was  a 
considerable  tonnage  of  high-carbon  steel.  The  ordinary  grades  of 
boiler  steel  and  forgings  were  made  of  stock  running  from  .08  to 
.10  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  while  metal  for  fireboxes  and  special 
forgings,  as  well  as  some  of  the  high-carbon  steel,  was  made  of  low- 
phosphorus  stock,  usually  a  mixture  of  Swedish  pig-iron  and  char- 
coal blooms.  A  certain  quantity  of  low-phosphorus  pig-iron  was 
made  in  America,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the  acid  epoch  a 
considerable  quantity  was  manufactured  of  what  is  known  as 
"washed  metal/'  This  is  made  by  treating  melted  pig-iron  in  a 
furnace  lined  with  iron  ore  and  lime  and  eliminating  most  of  the 
silicon,  sulphur  and  phosphorus  and  about  half  the  carbon.  The 
pig-iron  is  the  same  grade  as  is  used  in  the  basic  open-hearth  fur- 
nace, and  the  "washed  metal"  process  is  essentially  the  same  as  the 
basic  open-hearth  process  of  to-day.  It  differs  from  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing particulars : 

(1)  In  the  basic  open-hearth  furnace,  the  bottom  is  made  as 
durable  as  possible  and  it  is  desired  that  it  shall  not  be  cut  away 
by  the  action  of  the  metal  and  slag.    The  iron  ore  needed  to  oxidize 
the  metalloids  and  the  lime  to  make  a  basic  slag  are  both  added  with 
the  charge,  and  the  reactions  take  place  in  a  definite  way  very  simi- 
lar to  the  fusions  made  by  a  chemist  in  a  platinum  crucible,  the 
crucible  playing  no  part  in  the  reaction.     In  the  washed  metal 
process  the  bottom  is  not  durable,  but  is  intended  to  supply  the  ore 
and  lime  to  oxidize  the  metalloids  and  give  a  basic  slag. 

(2)  The  washed  metal  furnace  is  not  allowed  to  reach  a  very  high 

207 


208  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

temperature,  because  the  slag  is  not  stable  and  at  a  higher  tem- 
perature the  hearth  would  be  cut  away,  the  reactions  would  be  more 
violent  and  the  phosphorus  would  leave  the  slag  and  go  back  into 
the  metal.  In  the  open-hearth  furnace  the  phosphorus  does  not  go 
back,  because  the  slag  contains  a  sufficient  proportion  of  lime  to 
make  a  permanent  compound  with  the  phosphorus,  so  that  it  is  not 
readily  reduced  by  carbon.  Such  a  slag  needs  a  high  temperature 
for  complete  fusion  and  this  temperature  cannot  well  be  carried  in 
the  washed  metal  furnace. 

(3)  The  washed  metal  furnace  is  tapped  when  the  metal  contains 
about  2  per  cent,  of  carbon,  because  if  the  carbon  be  run  down  any 
lower  a  much  higher  temperature  would  be  needed,  and  because  this 
kind  of  product  suits  the  demands  of  the  trade. 

The  low-phosphorus  open-hearth  steel  of  former  days  was  made 
from  either  low-phosphorus  pig-iron  and  charcoal  blooms  or  washed 
metal  and  charcoal  blooms,  and  this  washed  metal  was  the  product 
of  a  basic  process.  The  charcoal  blooms  were  also  of  basic  origin, 
because  they  were  made  by  the  action  of  a  basic  oxidizing  slag  on 
melted  metal. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  basic  open-hearth  process  it  became 
possible  to  buy  in  the  open  market  a  supply  of  low-phosphorus  steel 
scrap  at  a  moderate  price,  and  this  scrap  rapidly  took  the  place  of 
the  high-priced  charcoal  blooms  and  stopped  their  manufacture. 
Thus  while  the  basic  open-hearth  furnace  rendered  it  possible  to 
produce  a  low-phosphorus  steel  much  cheaper  than  it  had  ever  been 
produced  before,  it  also  cheapened  the  cost  of  low-phosphorus  acid 
open-hearth  steel.  This  is  true,  however,  only  to  a  certain  extent, 
for  the  basic  furnaces  themselves  need  scrap  and  use  most  of  the 
available  supply.  Moreover,  the  low-phosphorus  pig-iron,  which 
must  be  used,  costs  from  three  to  five  dollars  per  ton  more  than 
the  ordinary  Bessemer  grade. 

In  order  to  overcome  these  difficulties  we  have  introduced  at  the 
works  of  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  an  adaptation  of  the 
old  washed  metal  process.  The  pig-iron  is  charged  in  a  basic 
lined  furnace,  and  almost  all  of  the  silicon  and  phosphorus  and  part 
of  the  sulphur  and  carbon  are  eliminated.  At  this  stage  it  is  washed 
metal,  and  in  olden  times  would  have  been  run  out  in  chills  and 
afterward  charged  into  the  acid  furnace,  but  in  this  new  practice 
it  is  poured  into  a  ladle,  and,  while  still  fluid,  is  poured  into  the 


METHODS    OF   MANUFACTURE.    . 


209 


acid  furnace.  A  certain  amount  of  scrap  may  be  used  in  the  basic 
furnace,  or  in  the  acid  furnace,  or  in  both ;  but  the  main  point  is  to 
have  no  basic  slag  enter  the  acid  furnace  and  to  be  sure  that  the 
dephosphorized  metal,  when  it  goes  into  that  furnace,  shall  contain 
as  much  carbon  as  is  usually  present  in  an  acid  bath  after  the  stock 
is  melted.  We  thus  have  the  transferred  charge  starting  on  its  acid 
journey  in  the  same  condition  as  if  it  had  been  melted  in  the  acid 
furnace,  so  that  the  reaction,  the  slag,  and  the  whole  history  from 
that  moment,  are  the  reactions,  the  slag  and  the  history  of  the  acid 
open-hearth  furnace. 

TABLE  XII-A. 

Metal  and  Slag  in  the  Acid  Furnace  when  Washed  Metal  is  Trans- 
ferred in  a  Molten  State  from  a  Basic  to  an  Acid  Furnace. 

Note :     Samples  over  1.10  per  cent,  in  carbon  omitted. 


Heat 

No. 

Composition  of  Metal,  per  cent. 

Composition  of  Slag,  per  cent. 

C 

Si 

S 

P 

SiO, 

MnO. 

FeO 

MnO+FeO 

SUVJJWM- 

A.  

1.00 

.02 

.033 

.025 

50.57 

12.16 

32.04 

44.20 

94.77 

.71 

.01 

.037 

.025 

49.91 

11.08 

32.58 

43.66 

93.57 

.30 

.03 

.037 

.029 

55.76 

9.75 

28.05 

37.80 

93.56 

.19 

.02 

.033 

.025 

55.44 

9.22 

30.15 

39.37 

94.81 

B  

.80 

.03 

.025 

.009 

47.71 

3.46 

44.64 

48.10 

95.81 

.31 

.03 

.020 

.008 

53.90 

4.30 

37.62 

41.92 

95.82 

.21 

.02 

.021 

.008 

51.50 

7.67 

35.55 

43.22 

94.72 

c  

.95 

.02 

.020 

.019 

51.08 

12.94 

29  79 

42.73 

93.81 

.70 

.02 

.020 

.019 

45.38 

9.04 

40.05 

49.09 

94.47 

.54 

.03 

.021 

.022 

50  01 

9.10 

35.55 

44.65 

94.66 

.23 

.03 

.020 

.021 

52.61 

10.92 

30.87 

41.79 

94.40 

P 

.77 

.03 

.026 

.010 

53.52 

10.92 

28.98 

39.90 

93.42 

* 

.45 

.03 

.029 

.011 

52.22 

8.34 

32.58 

40.92 

93.14 

.31 

.03 

.029 

.012 

52.50 

7.36 

36.54 

43.90 

96.40 

E.  

.90 

.02 

.040 

.034 

51.82 

6.52 

37.44 

43.% 

95.78 

.60 

.01 

.034 

.031 

50.27 

7.44 

38.79 

46.23 

96.50 

.17 

.02 

.034 

.030 

51.66 

5.51 

39.51 

45.02 

96.68 

p  

1.09 

.02 

.027 

.008 

42.50 

9.89 

41.76 

51.65 

94.15 

.72 

.02 

.027 

.008 

51.20 

10.17 

33.75 

43.92 

95.12 

.24 

.02 

.027 

.008 

56.61 

9.60 

29.61 

39.21 

95.82 

G...... 

.75 

.01 

.028 

.010 

46.95 

11.46 

39.24 

50.70 

97.65 

.46 

.01 

.028 

.010 

51.02 

10.44 

33.93 

44.37 

95.39 

.26 

.01 

.029 

.010 

54.80 

11.58 

28.17 

39.75 

94.55 

H... 

.96 

.01 

.022 

.026 

42.21 

14.34 

37.98 

52.32 

94.53 

.62 

.02 

.024 

.030 

49.66 

12.65 

32.65 

45.30 

94.% 

.25 

.02 

.023 

.028 

50.28 

11.72 

31.41 

43.13 

93.41 

I  

.70 

.02 

.030 

.011 

45.16 

15.14 

35.46 

50.60 

95.76 

.43 

.02 

.0-28 

.010 

47.65 

9.89 

36.99 

46.88 

94.53 

.22 

.03 

.029 

.on 

57.23 

9.36 

26.91 

36.27 

93.50 

210 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


This  practice  is  not  feasible  in  most  open-hearth  plants,  but  the 
demands  of  engineers  for  pure  acid  open-hearth  steel  made  it  neces- 
sary to  equip  a  plant  to  supply  this  special  product.  In  order  to 
show  that  the  composition  of  the  metal  and  slag  in  the  transfer 
process  is  the  same  as  in  the  usual  acid  furnace,  I  had  samples  taken 
from  the  bath  during  different  stages  of  the  operation.  The  metal 
was  tapped  from  the  basic  furnace  when  it  contained  from  2.50 
per  cent,  to  3.50  per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  transferred  in  a  molten 
state  to  the  acid  furnace.  When  the  carbon  was  about  1.00  per  cent, 
the  taking  of  samples  was  begun.  It  is  seldom  that  a  charge  in  an 
acid  furnace  is  higher  than  this  when  it  is  melted,  so  that  the 
records  may  be  compared  with  the  ordinary  acid  heat  after  com- 
plete fusion. 

The  results  on  nine  heats  are  given  in  Table  XII-A,  and  they 
may  be  compared  with  Table  X-B.  This  latter  table  shows,  under 
Group  I,  the  composition  of  slag  and  metal  as  found  some  years 
ago  in  an  acid  furnace  running  on  the  usual  pig,  scrap  and  ore 
process.  A  comparison  of  the  results  is  shown  in  Table  XII-B. 

TABLE  XII-B. 
Comparison  of  Data  in  Tables  X-B  and  XII-A. 


Group  I. 
Table  X-B 

Transfers 

5d  Steel. 

Carbon  in  metal  .  

54 

Min.       Max. 
70  to    1  09 

Av. 

88 

After  Melting               .  - 

SiO,  in  slag  

50.24 

42.21  to  53.52 

47.95 

FeO+MnO  
SiOa+FeO+MnO  

45.58 
95  82 

42.73  to  52.32 
93.42  to  97.65 

47.13 

95  08 

Carbon  in  metai       .  .  > 

13 

17  to       31 

23 

SiOoinslag  

49.40 

49.40  to  50.28 

53.62 

End  of  Operation  

FeO+MnO         

46  29 

36  27  to  45  02 

41  30 

[  SiOa-|-FeO+MnO  

95.69 

93.41  to  96.68 

94.92 

The  last  sample  was  not  always  taken  just  before  tapping.  Thus 
in  heat  D,  Table  XII-A,  the  final  carbon  was  not  .31  per  cent.,  but 
the  last  sample  was  taken  at  that  point  and  for  the  purposes  of  the 
investigation  this  was  deemed  sufficient.  The  composition  of  the 
slag,  both  at  the  earlier  and  later  periods,  corresponds  to  that  in 
former  experiments,  and  if  samples  had  been  taken  with  lower  car- 
bons to  correspond  with  the  .13  per  cent,  in  Group  I,  Table  X-B, 
there  would  have  been  even  a  still  closer  resemblance,  as  the  per- 
centages of  metallic  oxides  would  probably  have  increased. 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE.  211 

SEC.  Xllb. — The  pig-and-ore  basic  process. — The  question  of 
working  a  large  proportion  of  pig-iron  is  one  which  all  large  works 
are  driven  to  face.  In  an  ordinary  stationary  furnace  the  use  of 
an  entire  charge  of  pig-iron  is  objectionable  on  account  of  exces- 
sive frothing  of  metal  and  slag.  From  the  time  that  the  metal  is 
thoroughly  melted,  when  it  may  contain  about  3  per  cent,  of  car- 
bon, until  the  proportion  is  reduced  to  about  1J  per  cent.,  the  bath 
resembles  soda  water  more  than  pig-iron,  and  it  tries  to  flow  out 
of  the  doors  and  to  occupy  about  twice  the  room  it  should.  In 
Steelton  we  have  solved  the  difficulty  caused  by  this  frothing  by 
using  the  tilting  furnace  rotating  about  a  central  axis.  (See 
Chapter  VII.)  The  pig-iron  is  brought  in  a  melted  state  from  the 
blast  furnace  and  poured  into  the  open-hearth  furnace,  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  iron  ore  and  lime  being  added.  During  the  combustion 
of  silicon  no  violent  reaction  occurs,  but  immediately  afterward  a 
general  movement  takes  place,  whereupon  the  furnace  is  tipped  over 
until  the  metal  is  thrown  away  from  the  doors  and  up  on  the  back 
side.  In  this  way  the  capacity  of  the  furnace  is  practically  doubled, 
while  the  flame  enters  and  goes  out  as  usual.  The  furnace  is  kept  in 
this  position  for  two  or  three  hours,  until  the  bath  has  quieted  down. 
Meanwhile  the  slag  is  trying  to  froth  out  of  the  ends  of  the  fur- 
nace and  down  the  ports,  but  to  do  so  it  must  flow  over  the  open 
joint  between  the  port  and  the  furnace.  This  joint  is  not  wide,  but 
special  provision  is  made  to  allow  the  slag  to  run  out  through  a 
small  hole  and  fall  down  beneath  the  end  of  the  furnace  in  a  slag 
pit.  In  this  way  a  considerable  quantity  is  removed  and  the  time  of 
operation  lessened. 

At  some  works  the  slag  is  removed  by  a  small  tap-hole  or  through 
the  regular  door,  but  under  these  circumstances  the  stream  con- 
tinually chills  and  must  be  carefully  tended.  In  the  arrangement 
above  described  there  is  little  tendency  to  chill,  for  the  flame  is 
constantly  playing  back  and  forth  through  the  ports  and  the  slag 
opening  is  in  the  immediate  course  of  the  hottest  flame.  This  prac- 
tice of  using  direct  metal  has  been  in  more  or  less  continuous  use 
for  several  years  on  furnaces  of  fifty  tons  capacity.  Working  in 
this  way  the  iron  of  the  ore  is  reduced  in  such  quantity  that  the 
product  of  steel,  counting  both  ingots  and  scrap,  exceeds  the  weight 
of  pig-iron  charged  by  from  4  to  6  per  cent,  when  the  charge  is 
entirely  pig-iron. 


212 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


It  is  not  necessary  that  the  iron  should  be  brought  in  a  melted 
state  from  the  blast  furnace,  as  the  same  procedure  can  be  followed 
when  it  is  charged  cold.  Table  XII-C  shows  the  results  from  two 
series  of  heats,  in  one  of  which  most  of  the  metal  was  charged  cold, 
while  in  the  other  the  metal  was  all  fluid.  In  these  series  especial 
care  was  taken  to  have  the  weights  accurate  and  to  know  the 
composition  and  weight  of  the  slag  produced.  I  do  not  consider 
that  any  results  on  loss  are  worth  recording  unless  the  exact  amount 
of  pure  metallic  iron  put  into  the  furnace  is  known  and  unless  this 
equals  the  weight  of  metallic  iron  in  the  ingots,  the  scrap  and 
the  slag.  In  addition  to  this  it  is  well  to  know  the  total  amount  of 
CaO  put  into  the  furnace  in  the  form  of  limestone,  burned  lime  or 
dolomite,  and  see  whether  this  agrees  with  the  amount  of  CaO 
which  is  indicated  by  the  weight  and  composition  of  the  slag.  In 
the  following  two  series  these  conditions  were  attained  and  the 
amount  of  CaO  used  was  found  to  check  the  records  of  the  slag, 
while  the  balance  sheet  of  metallic  iron  agrees^  within  one-fifth  of 
one  per  cent.  In  individual  heats  no  such  accuracy  can  be  obtained, 

TABLE  XII-C. 
Eecord  of  "All-Pig"  Basic  Open-Hearth  Heats  at  Steelton. 


First  Peries. 
Pounds. 

Second  Series. 
Pounds. 

Liquid  metal  (1.4  per  cent.  Si).  .  . 

156,200 
352  210 

405,287 

Iron  cast  in  sand. 

36  020 

3  600 

4725 

548,030 

410,012 

Ore  (66.3  per  cent  Fe)  .. 

144  100 

116300 

551  200 

429000 

13  800 

1355 

Total  steel  

565000 

430355 

27  130 

73600 

17  140 

41  500 

Total  slag  

44270 

115100 

Sioa. 

24.04 

23.67 

CaO. 

11.84 

18.14 

FeO. 

41.63 

45.00 

Composition  of  second  slag..  -< 

SiOB. 
CaO. 
FeO. 

11.78 
41.90 
26.93 

16.14 
37.26 
25.94 

METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE.  213 

and  it  is  often  impossible  on  a  series  of  heats,  as  the  wearing  of  the 
hearth  or  the  accumulation  of  slag  will  give  a  gain  or  a  loss.  In 
Table  XII-C  the  term  "first  slag"  signifies  that  which  flows  through 
the  port  opening,  and  is  thus  removed  from  the  furnace  during  the 
progress  of  the  operation,  while  "second  slag"  means  the  cinder 
from  the  furnace  at  the  time  of  tapping. 

Taking  as  a  basis  the  weight  of  pig-iron  and  recarburizer,  the 
weight  of  ingots  and  scrap  together  was  103.1  per  cent,  in  the 
case  of  the  cold  metal,  and  104.95  per  cent,  with  liquid  metal. 
These  figures  neglect  entirely  the  weight  of  ore  charged,  but  it  is 
customary  to  speak  of  such  practice  by  saying  that  the  gains  were 
3.1  per  cent,  and  4.95  per  cent,  respectively.  This  subject  will  be 
again  referred  to  in  other  sections  of  this  chapter. 

In  the  case  of  the  cold  pig,  the  first  and  second  slags  together 
carried  away  7.3  per  cent,  of  all  the  metallic  iron  put  into  the 
furnace,  including  the  iron  in  the  ore.  In  the  case  of  the  melted 
iron,  this  loss  was  7.4  per  cent.  The  silicon  in  the  pig-iron  was 
1.4  per  cent.,  which  is  high  for  basic  practice.  Had  it  been  lower 
there  would  have  been  less  silica  produced,  less  lime  would  have  been 
necessary,  less  slag  would  have  been  produced,  and  less  iron  would 
have  been  lost  in  the  cinder.  The  slag  is  not  exactly  proportionate 
to  the  silicon  in  the  iron,  as  there  are  other  sources  from  which 
silica  is  supplied,  but  had  the  silicon  in  the  pig-iron  been  reduced 
one-half,  to  a  content  of  0.70  per  cent.,  the  volume  of  slag  would 
have  been  only  two-thirds  as  much,  and  it  would  carry  away  less 
than  5  per  cent,  of  the  total  iron  in  the  charge,  which  would  mean 
a  gain  of  2.5  per  cent,  in  the  weight  of  ingots  over  the  actual  prac- 
tice and  give  a  total  gain  in  weight  of  7.5  per  cent.  Less  ore  would 
be  required  with  lower  silicon,  but  on  the  other  hand,  a  lower  per- 
centage of  silicon  means  a  higher  content  of  metallic  iron  in  the 
pig-iron,  which  is  bound  to  show  itself  in  a  greater  product. 

SEC.  XIIc. — The  Talbot  process. — The  last  section  described  the 
difficulties  encountered  in  the  use  of  the  pig-and-ore  process  in  a 
furnace  that  cannot  be  tilted  while  in  operation.  A  way  of  over- 
coming this  trouble  has  been  carried  out  by  Mr.  Talbot.*  A  tilting 
furnace  is  used,  and  when  the  charge  is  ready  to  tap,  a  portion  of 
the  steel,  and  a  portion  only,  is  poured  into  the  ladle  and  cast  into 
ingots.  The  remainder  is  kept  in  the  furnace  and  a  new  supply  of 

*  Journal  land  8.  /.,  Vol.  1, 1900. 


214 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


melted  iron  added  to  it.  Taking  the  case  of  a  50-ton  furnace  and 
assuming  that  thirty  tons  of  low-carbon  metal  is  retained  and 
twenty  tons  of  pig-iron  added,  the  average  of  the  new  bath  will 
contain  about  1.5  per  cent,  of  carbon,  which  will  be  quite  a  man- 
ageable mixture. 

Considerable  stress  is  laid  on  the  addition  of  iron  oxide  before 
the  addition  of  pig-iron  in  order  to  create  a  violent  reaction  and 
quickly  oxidize  the  metalloids,  and  it  is  claimed  by  Mr.  Talbot 
that  this  oxidation  produces  heat.  It  will  be  shown  in  Section  Xlle 
that  this  is  a  great  mistake  and  that  the  reaction  absorbs  much 
energy.  Were  it  not  so,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  eliminating 


TABLE  XII-D. 
Eeactions  in  the  Talbot  Process. 

Note:     For  convenience  I  have  started  both  heats  at  12:00  o'clock. 


Time. 

Sample. 

Weight 
Ibs. 

Composition  of  Metal. 

Composition  of  Slag. 

C 

s 

P 

Mn 

Si 

Fe 

SiO, 

P.O. 

MnO 

12:00 
12:30 
1:05 
1:10 
1:18 
1:20 
1:20 
1:35 
1:40 
1:47 
1:50 
1:50 
3:30 
8:30 
3:40 
4:30 
4:35 
4:40 
4:40 

12:00 
12:40 
1:10 
1:15 
1:25 
1:40 
1:45 
2:00 
2:05 
2:05 
3:50 
4:35 
4:40 
4:50 
4:55 

Heat  No.  254— 
Slag  from  previous  heat. 

10.49 

11.68 

13.26 

7.00 

90,000 
23,700 
113,700 
2,200 
1  440 

0.06 
3.80 
0.49 

.051 

.082 
.053 

.026 
1.012 
0.132 

0.08 
0.26 
0.15 

6!  is 

25.57 

8.68 

9.44 



Bath  and  slag  

11.87 

12.10 

16.45 



113|700 
12,000 
125,700 
2,500 
2  250 

0.38 
3.80 
0.71 

.056 
.065 
.057 

0.111 
0.980 
0.144 

0.14 
0.43 
0.14 

6.'25 

10.39 

12.62 

17.05 

•- 

Bath  and  slag  
Cinder    

10.71 

12.32 

15.56 



Ore           

1*100 

1,000 
800 
125,700 
3,000 
128,700 

Bath  and  slag  

0.07 
3.80 
0.11 
0.16 

.025 
.065 
.033 
.050 

0.035 
0.980 
0.041 
0.036 

0.17 
0.43 
0.18 
0.50 

6^25 

13.95 







Bath  and  slag  
Steel  and  slag  tapped  — 
Heat  No.  306- 
Slag  from  previous  heat. 

11.59 
11.81 

14.29 

'ii'.55 

11.70 

'I2.Q3 
12.03 

'Y.  83 

5.12 

3,800 
95,000 
14,000 
109,000 
109,000 
17.200 
126,200 
2,300 
2,700 
400 
126  200 
6,100 
132,300 

Bath  nnd  slag  

.06 
3.80 
0.11 
0.07 
3.80 
0.34 

.053 
.052 
.052 
.057 
.057 
.052 

0.045 
0.976 
0.062 
0.049 
1.004 
0.111 

0.06 
0.24 
0.06 
0.05 
0.26 
0.08 

6!36 
6.*35 

43.37 

5.18 

4.17 



21.17 
23.16 

11.22 
9.95 

10.82 
9.83 

.'..... 

Bath  and  slag  

18.05 

12.08 

12.45 



Cinder              •    ........ 

Limestone.  

0.07 
3.80 
0.07 
0.14 

.049 
.057 
.047 
.050 

0.022 
1.004 
0.030 
0.038 

0.08 
0.26 
0.10 
0.45 

6!s5 

21.54 

*i|.28 

18.39 

'i6!94 

'i2*26 

"5.44 

Cupola  iron  

Steel  and  slag  tapped.  .  .  . 

METHODS    OF    MANUFACTURE. 


215 


silicon  and  carbon  in  the  open-hearth  furnace  by  ordinary  methods, 
for  a  charge  can  be  decarburized  with  great  rapidity  by  shoveling 
ore  into  the  furnace  continually;  the  reactions  take  place  and  the 
silicon  and  carbon  are  oxidized  as  fast  as  can  be  desired,  but  this 
cannot  be  continued  because  there  is  such  an  absorption  of  heat 
that  the  bath  becomes  cold.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  time 
necessary  for  decarburization  can  be  shortened  by  preheating  and 
melting  the  ore,  and  having  a  violent  reaction  with  a  consequent 
chilling.  The  decarburization  itself  will  take  place  in  less  time, 
but  the  total  time  necessary  to  melt  the  ore,  to  complete  the  reaction, 
and  to  heat  the  charge  after  the  reaction  will  probably  be  longer 
than  if  the  ore  were  added  after  the  pig-iron  is  charged. 

Table  XII-D  is  condensed  from  Mr.  Talbot's  paper  showing  the 
history  of  the  metal  and  slag  in  the  furnace.  There  are  five  heats 
given  in  full  in  his  paper  and  one  other  heat  in  part,  but  I  have 
quoted  only  two,  as  they  are  representative  of  all.  Mr.  Talbot  lays 
much  stress  on  the  gain  in  weight  from  the  ore,  but  it  is  a  mistake 
to  regard  this  as  characteristic  of  the  method.  Section  Xllg  will 
take,  up  this  subject,  while  Sections  Xlle  and  Xllf  also  bear  upon 
the  matter. 

TABLE  XII-E. 
Elimination  of  Sulphur  in  Talbot  Furnace. 


Heat. 

Rate  of  Production. 

Elimination  of  Sulphur. 

Weight  of  in- 
gots; Ibs. 

Time  from  tap 
to  tap. 
Hour»-MLn. 

Calculated  aver- 
age sulphur  in 
metal  charged. 

Sulphur  in  fin- 
ished steel. 

254... 

57,405 
39,100 
39,085 
37,410 
38,650 
191,650 
92  tons. 

3-50 
4-25 
4-40 
4-55 
4—30 
22—20 

.041 
.048 
.058 
.054 
.049 

.038 
.038 
.050 
.050 
.054 

264  

285  

306  

408  

Total  

Bate  per  24  hours.. 

Table  XII-E  shows  that  there  was  very  little  elimination  of 
sulphur  in  any  of  the  heats;  the  slag  was  kept  fluid  and  not  very 
basic,  and  under  these  conditions  the'  furnace  will  run  much  faster 
and  make  more  product  than  if  a  better  steel  is  made.  Three  out  of 
the  five  heats  would  not  fill  the  standard  American  specifications 
for  boiler  plate.  It  may  be  urged  that  there  was  no  necessity  of 


216  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

elimination,  but  this  will  hardly  apply  to  the  results  given  on  pages 
59  and  61,*  showing  two  weeks'  working  and  the  composition  of 
fifty-five  heats.  Of  these  the  sulphur  content  was  as  follows : 

7  heats  between  .040  and  .049  per  cent. 

20  "  "       .050  "     .059     " 

21  "              "       .060  "     .069     "       " 
3       "              "       .070  "     .079     "       " 
3       "              "       .080  "     .089     " 

1  heat  .090     " 

If  sufficient  time  had  been  allowed  for  the  elimination  of  sul- 
phur, and  if  during  all  this  time  the  slag  had  been  more  basic, 
more  viscous  and  more  voluminous,  the  time  would  have  been  in- 
creased and  the  amount  of  fuel  greater.  The  iron  was  melted  in 
a  cupola,  and  this  raised  the  sulphur,  but  a  blast  furnace  could 
not  be  relied  upon  to  furnish  a  better  iron  than  was  used. 

The  Talbot  process  has  an  advantage  in  the  greater  output  from 
a  given  ground  area,  a  vital  matter  in  a  constricted  city  works.  It 
is  also  of  value  where  the  open-hearth  furnaces  must  run  almost 
wholly  on  pig-iron  containing  a  high  percentage  of  phosphorus,  as 
at  Frodingham,  England. 

SEC.  Xlld. — The  Bertrand  Thiel  process. — There  has  been  de- 
veloped at  Kladno,  in  Bohemia,  a  system  of  handling  phosphoric 
pig-iron.  There  were  two  open-hearth  furnaces  on  different  levels, 
making  it  possible  to  tap  from  one  furnace  into  the  other  by  means 
of  a  runner.  The  higher  furnace  is  used  to  remove  the  silicon,  part 
of  the  carbon  and  most  of  the  phosphorus,  while  the  second  com- 
pletes the  process.  Many  years  ago,  when  the  practice  had  not  been 
reduced  to  precision,  Mr.  Bertrand  publishedt  the  results  of  twelve 
heats,  which  show  that  the  metal  was  in  the  first  furnace  an  aver- 
age of  4  hours  and  50  minutes,  and  in  the  second  2  hours  and  20 
minutes. 

The  proportions  of  pig-iron  and  scrap  are  unimportant,  but  it  is 
considered  best  to  charge  mostly  pig-iron  in  the  first  furnace,  using 
sufficient  ore  to  give  a  good  reaction  and  oxidize  the  metalloids,  and 
to  charge  some  scrap  in  the  second  furnace.  The  stock  in  the  second 
furnace  is  partly  melted  when  the  steel  runs  to  it,  and  there  is  a 
quick  and  violent  reaction.  Care  is  taken  to  allow  no  slag  to  run 
to  the  second  furnace,  and  the  phosphorus,  which  has  been  elimi- 

*  Loc.  cit.  t  Journal  I.  and  S.  I. ,  Vol.  1, 1807. 


METHODS   OP   MANUFACTURE. 


217 


nated  in  the  first  furnace,  is  kept  out  of  the  operation  from  that 
time  forward.  The  second  furnace  starts  with  a  semi-purified  metal 
and  a  new  and  clean  slag.  Following  is  a  summary  of  the  data  given 
hy  Mr.  Bertrand : 


Metal. 

Slag. 

c 

P 

Si 

Mn 

SiO, 

P.O. 

FeO 

Pig  iron  ..........                 ...... 

3.8 
2.2 

1.6 
0.4 

1.0 
.05 

1.0 
0.5 

26.30 
13.23 

12.23 
11.78 

9.49 
14.26 

The  average  sulphur  in  the  steel  is  .042  per  cent.,  but  all  the  pig- 
iron  contained  less  than  .05  per  cent.,  so  there  was  little  elimination 
of  this  element.  The  average  phosphorus  in  the  steel  is  .067  per 
cent.  The  twelve  heats  may  be  divided  as  follows,  in  their  content 
of  this  element: 


1  heat 


.021  per  cent. 


2  heats  between  .03  and  .04 

2       "  "         .04     "     .05 

2       "  "          .05     "     .06  "  " 

1  heat  .075  "  M 

1      "  .086  "  " 

1      "  .098  "  " 

1      "  .170  ••  " 

Of  these  twelve  heats  one  heat  was  so  high  in  phosphorus  that  it 
could  not  be  sold  in  America,  while  seven  more  were  above  the 
standard  for  American  basic  steel.  Attention  is  called  to  this  fact 
to  illustrate  that  on  the  continent  of  Europe  the  specifications  on 
structural  steel  are  in  no  manner  as  severe  as  in  America.  In 
this  country  a  charge  known  to  contain  .17  per  cent,  of  phosphorus 
would  be  remelted  and  never  spoken  of  as  steel.  On  the  other  side 
it  needs  only  to  pass  certain  physical  tests  and  it  will  be  accepted  by 
Lloyds,  in  England,  or  by  a  hundred  engineers  on  the  Continent. 
Later  results  on  Kladno  practice  have  been  given  by  Mr.  Harts- 
horne,*  who  has  kindly  given  me  the  original  reports.  The  pig- 
iron  was  nearly  all  molten  and  carried  about  1.5  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phorus, while  the  average  metal  from  the  primary  furnace  ran  as 
follows  in  phosphorus: 


*  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Feb.  1900. 


21S 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

17  heats  below  .10  per  cent. 

45  "  between  .10  and  .20     "       " 

10  "            "         .20     "  .30     " 

5  "             "         .30     "  .40     " 

2  "             "         .40     "  .50     "       " 

1  heat  not  given. 


The  slags  from  the  primary  furnace  contained  from  20  to  23  per 
cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  and  the  following  proportions  of  iron  (Fe)  : 


4  heats  between     6  and     7  per  cent. 


22   " 

«     7  ' 

'   8 

16   "     ' 

•     8  ' 

9 

12   " 

"     9 

10 

1   " 

10 

11 

2   " 

11 

12 

1  heat 

12 

13 

4  heats 

13 

14 

*   " 

14 

15 

1  heat 

17 

18 

8  heats         not  given. 


80 


During  two  weeks  the  furnaces  made  an  average  per  twenty-four 
hours  of  7.6  heats  of  12.3  tons  each,  or  94  tons  per  day  for  the 
two  furnaces,  the  maximum  capacity  of  the  larger  being  13  tons. 
The  phosphorus  in  the  steel  was  as  follows : 


18  heats  below  .01  per  cent. 


24     "    bet* 

reen  .01  ar 

d  .02  per  cent 

21     " 

.02     ' 

'     .03     " 

8     " 

.03     ' 

•     .04     " 

2     " 

.04 

.05     " 

4     " 

.05 

.06     "         " 

1  heat 

.07 

.08     "          •• 

1     " 

.08 

.09     " 

1     "          ' 

.11 

.12     " 

In  a  private  communication  from  Mr.  Bertrand  I  received  cor- 
roboration  of  the  foregoing  practice  and  he  gave  the  results  on  two 
heats,  one  made  from  an  iron  with  about  1.30  per  cent,  of  silicon, 
and  the  other  with  0.50  per  cent.  The  higher,  silicon  necessitates  a 
larger  addition  of  lime  and  reduces  the  phosphoric  acid  in  the  slag 
from  the  primary  furnace,  this  being  an  objection  when  the  slag 
is  to  be  sold  as  a  fertilizer.  The  results  are  given  in  Table  XII-F. 
Mr.  Bertrand  states  that  manganese  in  the  pig-iron  has  an  im- 
portant bearing  on  the  elimination  of  phosphorus,  and  saves  time, 
as  the  slag  is  more  liquid  and  the  hearth  remains  cleaner  after 
tapping.  When  there  is  no  manganese  in  the  pig-iron  the  phos- 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE. 


219 


phorus  may  be  reduced  to  .02  per  cent.,  but  by  having  2  per  cent, 
of  manganese  the  phosphorus  may  be  worked  down  to  0.005  per  cent, 
in  the  steel.  Such  a  low  content  is  not  unusual  in  America,,  but  the 
pig-iron  at  Kladno  carries  1.5  per  cent,  of  phosphorus.  The  Ber- 
trand  Thiel  process  would  seem  to  be  most  applicable  to  pig- 
irons  containing  a  considerable  quantity  of  phosphorus,  for  the  slag 
from  the  primary  furnace  is  then  of  considerable  value  as  a  fertil- 
izer. In  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States,  where  there  are  no 
pig-irons  containing  high  percentages  of  phosphorus,  this  primary 
slag  would  be  of  no  value,  but  in  the  South  or  in  Cape  Breton  it 
might  be  an  important  by-product. 


TABLE  XII-F. 
Practice  at  Kladno. 

Private  Communication,  February,  1901. 


Composition  of  Metal.  , 
Per  cent. 

Composition  of 
Slag.    Per  cent. 

C 

Si 

Mn 

p 

3 

SiO, 

P.O. 

Fe 

Heat  A—  Primary  furnace  : 
At  charging  
Ihr.  after  charging  

2  hrs.  20  min.  after  charging,  trans- 
ferred to  second  furnace  

Secondary  furnace  : 
1  hr.  after  transfer  
2  hrs.  after  transfer,  tapped  

Heat  B  —  Primary  furnace  : 
At  charging  

3.50 
3.45 

2.50 

.35 
.15 

3.50 
3.50 

2.70 

.31 
.16 

.50 
.15 

.04 

.02 
.02 

1.30 
.31 

.01 

tr 
tr 

.47 
.42 

.10 

.05 
.32 

.39 
.20 

.06 
.10 

1.S5 
.93 

.09 

.02 
.01 

1.25 

.99 

.17 

.02 
.02 

.025 
tr 

tr 

tr 
tr 

*20.66 
19*.  16 

14.66 
13.00 

"26'.66 
24.33 

13.33 
11.43 

'i5.*67 

18.88 

9.70 
4.99 

'i6".37 
15.83 

14.40 
5.67 

'ii'.io 

6.00 

18.00 
13.50 

'is'.oo 

6.00 

11.00 
15.75 

2  hrs.  10  min.  after  charging,  trans- 
ferred to  second  furnace  

Secondary  furnace  : 
Ihr  after  transtVr     .             

SEC.  Xlle. — The  heat  absorbed  by  the  reduction  of  ore. — It 
has  been  stated  in  Section  XIIc  that  the  reduction  of  iron  ore  by 
melted  pig-iron  does  not  create  heat,  but  absorbs  it,  and  this  can 
be  proven  by  finding  the  heat  produced  by  the  oxidation  of  the 
silicon  and  carbon,  and  the  heat  absorbed  in  the  dissociation  of  the 
iron  oxide.  Inasmuch  as  it  has  been  stated  that  Mr.  Talbot  is  in 


220  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

error*  in  supposing  that  this  reaction  produces  heat,  it  may  be  well 
to  take  the  data  given  by  Mr.  Talbot  showing  the  composition  of 
the  pig-iron  and  of  the  slags  produced.  It  will  therefore  be  as- 
sumed that  the  pig-iron  contains  1.00  per  cent,  of  silicon  and  3.75 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  one  ton  will  be  taken  as  a  basis.  It  will 
also  be  assumed  that  the  ore  is  pure  ferric  oxide  (Fe203)  and  the- 
problem  is  to  find  how  much  ore  is  to  be  added.  It  is  easy  to  cal- 
culate how  much  oxygen  is  necessary  to  burn  the  silicon,  but  in  ad- 
dition to  this  a  certain  amount  of  FeO  will  combine  with  the  Si02 
to  form  a  slag,  and  the  relative  proportions  of  these  two  substances 
depend  upon  many  conditions.  In  the  acid  furnace  it  would  not  be- 
far  wrong  to  assume  that  equal  weights  would  be  called  for,  a  con- 
dition roughly  expressed  by  the  formula  5  Si02  4  FeO.  In  the- 
basic  furnace  the  conditions  are  more  complicated,  but  the  relation 
of  Si02  and  FeO  is  about  the  same  as  in  the  acid  slag.  In  the  pres- 
ent case  there  is  no  need  to  theorize;  we  are  discussing  the  use  of 
oxide  of  iron  in  the  Talbot  process,  and  in  the  description  of  this- 
process  the  composition  is  given  of  thirteen  different  slags  after 
the  reaction  with  iron  oxide  is  completed.  Taking  the  average,  we 
have  the  following: 

Si02=12.75  per  cent.=5.95  per  cent.  Si. 
Fe=15.13  per  cent. 

Thus  when  iron  oxide  reacts  upon  pig-iron,  under  the  conditions 
related  by  Mr.  Talbot,  the  silica  from  the  oxidation  of  silicon  and 
from  other  sources  enters  the  slag  and  carries  ferrous  oxide  with  it 
in  such  proportions  that  5.95  kilos  of  silicon  accompany  15.13  kilos 
of  metallic  iron,  which  is  in  the  proportion  of  10  kilos  Si  to  25.43 
kilos  Fe.  The  relative  weights  will  be  as  follows : 

10  kilos  Si=25.43  kilos  Fe=32.69  kilos  FeO=36.33  kilos  Fe20s 

For  every  ton  of  pig-iron  containing  one  per  cent,  or  10  kilos  of 
silicon,  the  slag  will  require  32.69  kilos  of  ferrous  oxide  (FeO), 
while  36.33  kilos  of  ferric  oxide  (Fe203)  must  be  added  to  supply  it. 

*  For  Mr.  Talbot's  views  see  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  1900,  p.  38.  I  quote  two  representa- 
tive passages :  "  And  thus  facilitates  rapid  chemical  action,  by  which  more  heat  is  pro- 
duced." "  It  will  be  seen  that  both  the  reducing  and  heat  giving  power  of  these  constit- 
uents is  not  a  mere  piece  of  theory,  but  a  practical  fact."  It  may  be  noted  that  Mrk 
Bertrand  at  Klando  recognizes  the  great  cooling  effect  of  ore  reactions. 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE.  221 

Simple  subtraction  shows  that  the  reduction  of  36.33  kilos  Fe203 
to  32.69  kilos  FeO  sets  free  3.64  kilos  of  oxygen  which  unites  with 
the  silicon.  But  10  kilos  of  silicon  demand  11.43  kilos  of  oxygen, 
and  therefore  11.43 — 3.64=7.79  kilos  of  oxygen  must  be  supplied 
by  further  additions  of  ore,  and  since  we  have  already  satisfied  all 
the  demands  of  the  slag,  these  further  additions  must  be  reduced  to 
the  state  of  metallic  iron.  These  7.79  kilos  of  oxygen  therefore  call 
for  the  addition  of  25.97  kilos  of  Fe203,  producing  18.18  kilos  of 
metallic  iron. 

The  statement,  therefore,  is  as  follows : 

1000  kilos  pig-iron  contain  10  kilos  of  silicon. 
This  silicon  requires  11.43  kilos  of  oxygen. 

The  11.43  kilos  of  oxygen  are  supplied  by  ferric  oxide,  part  of 
which  is  reduced  to  metallic  iron,  while  the  other  part  is  reduced 
from  Fe203  to  FeO,  this  latter  oxide  combining  with  the  silica  and 
entering  the  slag.  The  amount  of  iron  reduced  to  the  metallic  state 
has  been  shown  to  be  18.18  kilos,  and  the  amount  of  heat  absorbed 
in  dissociating  this  from  oxygen  will  be  equal  to  the  amount  of  heat 
formed  by  its  union  with  oxygen,  which  will  be  18.18X1746= 
31,742  calories.  The  amount  of  iron  present  in  the  slag  as  FeO  has 
been  shown  to  be  25.43  kilos,  and  the  amount  of  heat  absorbed  in 
converting  this  iron  from  the  state  of  Fe203  to  the  state  of  FeO  will 
be  the  difference  between  the  amount  of  heat  produced  by  burning 
this  same  amount  of  Fe  to  the  state  of  FeO  and  by  burning  it  to 
Fe203.  This  is  as  follows: 

25.43XU746— 1173)  =14,571. 

The  total  absorption  of  heat  is  as  follows : 

Calorie*. 

From  Fe  reduced  to  metallic  state 81,742 

From  the  reduction  of  Fe2O3  to  FeO 14,571 

Total    absorption    40,313 

The  total  production  of  heat  will  be  the  amount  formed  by  the 
oxidation  of  10  kilos  of  silicon  plus  that  created  by  the  union  of  the 
resulting  silica  with  oxide  of  iron,  the  account  standing  thus : 


222.  METALLURGY  OF  IRO^T  AND  STEEL. 

Calories. 

Heat  produced  by  oxidation  of  10  kg.  of  silicon 64,140 

Heat  produced  by  union  of  21.4  kg.  SiOa  with  FeO..        3,317 

67,457 
Absorption  by  reduction  of  Iron  oxides 46,313 

Net   heat  produced 21,144 

Oxidation  of  carbon: 

Making  the  same  assumptions  as  in  the  calculation  of  silicon,  we 
have  the  following:  3.75  per  cent,  of  1000  kilos=37.5  kilos  carbon, 
requiring  50.0  kilos  oxygen.  50.0  kilos  oxygen  require  166.7  kilos 
Fe203.  166.7  kilos  Fe203  contain  116.7  kilos  Fe,  and  the  heat  ab- 
sorbed in  dissociating  166.7  kilos  Fe203  will  be  the  same  as  the  heat 
created  in  burning  116.7  kilos  Fe  to  Fe203?  which  is 

116.7X1746=203,758  calories. 

The  heat  produced  will  be  the  amount  created  by  the  burning  of 
37.5  kilos  carbon  to  carbonic  oxide  (CO),  which  is  37.5X2450= 
91,875.  The  net  result,  therefore,  of  the  oxidation  of  the  carbon  by 
ferric  oxide  is  as  follows : 

Calories. 

Heat  absorbed   203,758 

Heat  created  91,875 

Net  heat  absorbed 111,883 

Silicon  and  carbon  together: 

The  combined  effect  of  the  oxidation  of  the  silicon  and  carbon 
has  been  shown  to  be  as  follows: 

Calories. 

Heat  absorbed  In  burning  carbon 111,883 

Heat  created  in  burning  silicon 21,144 

Net  heat  absorption 90,739 

Two  other  factors  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  When  one 
kilogram  of  carbon  unites  with  metallic  iron  the  combination 
produces  705  calories  and  the  union  of  1  kg.  of  silicon  with  iron 
produces  931  calories.*  Conversely,  when  by  the  reaction  of  ore 
upon  the  bath  the  carbon  is  taken  away  from  the  iron,  there  must 

*  E.  D.  Campbell ;  Journal  1.  and  S.  I.  May,  1901. 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE.  223 

be  a  similar  absorption  of  energy.    In  the  present  case  it  will  be  as 

follows : 

Absorbed  by  silicon. 10X931=     9,310 

Absorbed  by   carbon 37.5X705=  26,438 

Total    35,748 

Brought  down  from  above 90,739 

Total    absorption    126,487 

To  translate  these  figures  into  a  simpler  form  it  has  been  shown 
that  if  the  metalloids  in  molten  pig-iron  are  to  be  oxidized  by  iron 
ore  alone  without  assistance  from  the  flame  of  the  furnace,  then 
every  ton  (2240  pounds)  of  pig-iron  will  require  500  pounds  of  iron 
ore,  and  the  reaction  will  absorb  so  much  heat  that  the  metal  will 
be  770°  C.  (say  1380°  F.)  colder  at  the  end  of  the  work.  Of  this 
total  of  500  pounds  of  ore,  367  pounds  will  be  taken  care  of  by  the 
carbon,  while  80  pounds  will  furnish  the  oxide  of  iron  to  form  a 
slag. 

This  assumes  that  the  ore  is  added  in  a  liquid  state,  so  that  no 
heat  is  necessary  to  heat  or  melt  the  addition.  It  does  not  assume 
that  the  carbon  is  oxidized  to  carbonic  acid  (C02),  for  this  is  out 
of  the  question.  The  reactions  are  internal  and  take  place  in  the 
metal  itself  or  within  the  covering  of  slag,  and  under  these  condi- 
tions carbonic  oxide  only  can  be  formed.  This  may  be  subsequently 
burned  in  the  furnace  or  regenerators,  but  while  such  combustion 
may  decrease  temporarily  the  amount  of  fuel  consumed,  it  can 
have  no  influence  on  the  immediate  heat  history  of  the  metal. 

If,  however,  we  do  assume  the  untenable  proposition  that  the 
carbon  is  burned  to  carbonic  acid  (C02),  then  calculation  shows 
that  things  are  worse  than  before,  for  333.4  kilos  of  ore  must  be 
added  to  supply  the  increased  amount  of  oxygen  needed  by  the 
carbon,  instead  of  166.7  kilos,  as  shown  before,  and  this  more  than 
makes  up  for  the  extra  heat  produced.  Under  this  assumption  the 
figures  for  carbon  are  as  follows: 

Calories. 

Heat  absorbed  by  reducing  ore 407,516 

Heat   created   in   burning   to   CO> 304,988 

Net   heat  absorbed 102,528 

Thus  the  reaction  between  oxide  of  iron  and  pig-iron  in  an 
open-hearth  furnace,  even  when  the  oxide  is  in  a  fluid  state,  does 


224  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

not  heat  the  bath,  but  cools  it,  and  as  the  flame  is  the  only  heating- 
agent,  the  more  rapid  the  reaction  the  lower  will  be  the  resultant 
temperature  of  the  bath.  The  absorption  of  heat  by  the  reduction 
of  ore  may  be  illustrated  in  a  Bessemer  converter.  The  addition  of 
four  hundred  pounds  of  ore  at  the  beginning  of  the  blow  will  have  as 
much  cooling  effect  as  one  thousand  pounds  of  scrap.  It  is  hardly 
likely  that  the  fusion  of  the  ore  takes  so  much  more  heat  than  the 
fusion  of  steel,  and  the  oxygen  should  be  a  source  of  heat,  as  it 
assists  in  burning  the  silicon  more  quickly  and  renders  unneces- 
sary the  admission  of  a  great  volume  of  nitrogen  that  would  enter  if 
air  had  to  be  supplied.  We  are  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
cooling  effect  is  due  to  the  absorption  of  energy  in  the  separation  of 
iron  from  its  oxygen.  The  union  of  this  oxygen  with  silicon  should 
be  a  source  of  heat,  but  if  the  silicon  is  present,  it  would  be  burned 
anyway  by  the  blast  whether  the  ore  is  added  or  not,  and  therefore 
the  heat  produced  by  it  will  be  the  same  in  either  case,  save  a  cer- 
tain gain  from  the  absence  of  nitrogen. 

SEC.  Xllf. — Ore  needed  to  reduce  a  bath  of  pig '-iron. —In  the 
last  section  it  was  found  that  for  every  ton  of  pig-iron  500  pounds 
of  ore  are  needed  to  oxidize  the  silicon  and  carbon,  and  of  this 
amount  80  pounds  will  be  used  in  supplying  the  oxide  of  iron  for 
the  slag.  This  calculation  assumed  that  the  ore  was  pure  Fe203> 
which  is  never  true,  and  did  not  allow  for  the  presence  of  silica  from 
other  sources.  Every  pound  of  silica  in  the  charge  will  claim  a 
certain  amount  of  FeO  in  order  to  form  a  slag,  and  this  calls  for 
an  increased  amount  of  ore.  It  was  also  assumed  that  the  pig-iron 
contained  one  per  cent,  silicon,  and  it  is  necessary  to  change  the 
figures  if  there  is  a  different  content  of  this  element.  No  allow- 
ance was  made  for  the  action  of  the  flame,  as  the  last  section  was 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  heat  generated  or  absorbed  by  an  internal 
reaction.  It  may  be  well,  therefore,  to  see  how  theoretical  calcula- 
tions agree  with  practical  results. 

In  Section  Xllb  were  given  some  data  on  the  use  of  pig-iron 
in  basic  furnaces  at  Steelton.  It  was  shown  that  in  charging 
544,430  pounds  of  pig-iron,  most  of  it  being  cold,  the  ore  used 
amounted  to  144,100  pounds,  or  593  pounds  per  ton,  while  with 
liquid  metal  the  ore  was  643  pounds  per  ton.  This  is  more  than 
was  found  by  the  previous  calculation,  but  there  are  two  things  to 
be  taken  into  consideration:  (1)  the  action  of  the  flame,  (2)  the 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE. 


225 


fact  that  the  metal  contained  1.4  per  cent,  silicon  and  0.6  per  cent, 
manganese.  Table  XII-G  shows  the  amount  of  oxygen  needed  for 
the  charges  in  Section  Xllb. 

TABLE  XII-G. 
Oxygen  Needed  for  Pig-Iron  Charges. 


Cold  Pig 
Pounds. 

Direct 
Metal. 
Pounds. 

Pig  iron  

544  430 

405287 

Silicon  1  4  per  cent 

7  622 

5  674 

Carbon  3.  75  per  cent  

20,415 

15,198 

Manganese  0  .  6  per  cent  
Fein  slag  

3.267 
44  270 

2,432 
34  130 

Oxygen  for  silicon     

8710 

6485 

Oxygen  for  carbon 

27  220 

20264 

Oxygen  for  manganese  
Oxygen  for  Fe  in  slag  

950 
32.650 

707 
9,751 

Total  oxygen  needed  
FeaOs  needed       . 

49,530 
165100 

37,207 
124020 

Ore  needed  (94  per  cent.)  
Ore  used 

175.640 
144  100 

131940 
116  300 

With  cold  pig-iron,  the  ore  was  82.0  per  cent,  of  what  was  theo- 
retically necessary,  while  with  liquid  metal  it  was  88.1  per  cent.  A 
charge  of  cold  pig-iron  should  use  less  ore,  as  part  of  the  oxidation 
is  done  by  the  flame.  The  difference  will  be  even  greater  than  is 
shown,  as  the  series  called  "cold  pig"  was  really  composed  of  nearly 
30  per  cent,  of  molten  metal.  Thus  in  the  case  of  the  liquid  metal, 
the  amount  of  ore  called  for  by  theory  agrees  within  12  per  cent,  of 
the  amount  used.  I  have  found  a  similar  agreement  in  the  results 
of  the  eighty  heats  mentioned  in  the  discussion  of  the  Bertrand 
Thiel  process.  The  average  heat  contained  27,140  pounds  of  pig- 
iron,  nearly  all  charged  in  a  molten  state.  The  average  amount  of 
ore  was  7466  pounds,  or  616  pounds  to  the  ton.  The  pig-iron  at 
Kladno  was  of  the  following  composition  in  per  cent. : 


C  3.5 


P  1.5 


Si  1.0 


MnO.4 


Such  an  iron  will  demand  24  per  cent,  more  oxygen  than  an  iron 
containing  1.0  per  cent.  Si,  3.75  per  cent.  C,  and  0.6  per  cent.  Mn, 
and  in  the  Bertrand  Thiel  process  much  oxygen  is  supplied  by  the 
flame  as  it  fuses  the  scrap  in  the  secondary  furnace,  while  some 


226 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


oxygen  is  furnished  by  the  limestone.  I  find  also  a  close  agreement 
in  the  records  published  by  Mr.  Talbot.  The  six  heats  given  by 
him  are  not  consecutive,  but  the  composition  of  the  metal  before 
the  first  addition  of  pig-iron  and  after  the  last  addition  were  simi- 
lar, as  shown  by  the  following  averages : 

C.  P.  Mn. 

First  metal 06  .030  .10 

Last  metal 13  .035  .15 

It  would  seem  fair,  therefore,  to  add  together  the  amounts  of 
pig-iron  and  ore  for  the  six  heats,  and  to  average  the  figures  show- 
ing the  chemical  composition.  The  results  are  given  in  Table 
XII-H,  all  estimated  figures  being  in  parentheses: 

TABLE  XII-H. 
Oxygen  used  in  the  Talbot  Furnace. 

Total  pig  iron  in  six  heats 212,100  pounds. 

Average  composition , \  g^g       g  jj;g 


Additions. 

Pounds. 

Per  cent, 
metallic 
iron. 

Pounds 
free 
oxygen. 

Scale 

22400 

74  5 

4,768 

Ore  

15,100 

58.0 

3754 

Cinder            .... 

13,800 

66.8 

2,634 

Manganese  ore... 

2,500 
23  240 

(20.0) 

620 
270" 

Total  

14,476 

The  ore  and  limestone  account  for  14,476  pounds  of  oxygen.  This 
assumes  that  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  limestone  is  broken  up  when 
in  contact  with  melted  pig-iron  and  that  one  atom  of  oxygen  is  set 
free.  The  amount  of  silica  present  is  shown  in  Table  XII-I.  The 
average  of  the  slags  showed  12.75  per  cent.  Si02  and  15.13  per  cent. 
Fe=19.45  per  cent.  FeO.  According  to  this  proportion,  the  pres- 
ence of  4827  pounds  of  Si02  in  the  slag  would  call  for  7364  pounds 
FeO=5728  pounds  Fe,  and  1636  pounds  of  oxygen  would  be  held 
by  this  iron  and  not  be  available  for  oxidizing  the  metalloids.  The 
calculation,  therefore,  shows  that  14,476—1636=12,840  pounds  of 
oxygen  are  available.  The  amount  of  oxygen  required  is  shown  in 
Table  XII- J: 


METHODS   OP   MANUFACTURE. 


227 


TABLE  XII-I. 
Silica  in  the  Talbot  Furnace. 


SiO, 
Per  cent. 

SiO. 

Pounds. 

Scale          

22  400 

0  50 

112 

Ore  

15,100 

3.00 

453 

Cinder  

13,800 

8  00 

1  104 

Manganese  ore  ......        .... 

2  500 

(8  00) 

(200  1 

23,240 

anm 

(232\ 

From  roof  and  walls  (est  )  •  • 

(50) 

Dolomite  additions  (est  i 

(40) 

From  oxidation  of  silicon.  .  . 

2,636 

Total  

4,827 

Thus  14,708  pounds  of  oxygen  are  necessary  to  burn  the  metalloids, 
while  12,840  pounds  of  available  oxygen  have  been  added  in  the  ore 
and  limestone.  This  leaves  1868  pounds  to  be  supplied  by  the  flame. 
The  amount  of  oxygen  theoretically  necessary  agrees  closely  with 
the  amount  added  and  available,  the  discrepancy  being  less  than  13 
per  cent. ;  the  figure  given  for  Steelton  agreed  within  12  per  cent. 


TABLE  XII-J. 

Oxygen  in  the  Talbot  Furnace. 


Element. 

Per  cent. 

Pounds 
present. 

Oxygen  needed,  pounds. 

Si 

0.58 

1.230 

1,406  =   2,636  Ibs.  SiO, 

C 

3.75 

7.954 

10,605  =  18,559  Ibs.  CO 

P 

Mil 

0.85 
0.60 

1,803 
1,273 

2,327  =   4,130  Ibs.  P,O, 
370  =   1,643  Ibs.  MnO 

5.78 

14708 

In  the  case  of  the  Bertrand  Thiel  process,  the  difference  was  about 
16  per  cent.,  but  allowance  was  not  made  for  the  oxidizing  effect  of 
the  limestone. 

Thus  these  calculations  are  not  all  guesswork  and  often  there 
can  be  found  corroborative  testimony.  For  instance,  Mr.  Talbot 
gives  the  composition  of  the  final  slags  in  the  furnace  at  the  end 
of  five  different  weeks.  The  average  shows  39.07  per  cent.  CaO,  the 
minimum  37.65  per  cent,  and  the  maximum  40.69  per  cent.  The 


228  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

additions  of  limestone  were  23,240  pounds,  giving  13,000  pounds  of 
CaO,  and  if  the  slag  contained  39.07  per  cent,  of  CaO  the  weight 
of  the  slag  would  be  33,300  pounds.  There  were  4827  pounds  of 
silica  added  and  the  slag  was  supposed  to  contain  12.75  per  cent, 
of  Si02.  This  calls  for  37,860  pounds  of  slag,  so  that  the  weight 
of  the  slag  found  by  these  two  different  methods  agrees  within  12 
per  cent.  'On  a  different  series  of  twenty-seven  heats  Mr.  Talbot 
gives  the  weight  of  the  slag,  and  if  we  calculate  this  so  as  to  be 
in  proportion  to  the  weight  of  metal,  the  slag  would  weigh  42,000 
pounds,  when  by  our  two  theoretical  calculations  founded  on  other 
heats  it  would  be  33,300  and  37,860  pounds.  Variations  in  the 
pig-iron  might  account  for  greater  discrepancies  than  these. 

We  may  say  with  some  certainty  that  in  the  pig-and-ore  process, 
with  molten  pig-iron  in  a  basic  furnace,  the  oxidation  of  the 
metalloids  is  mainly  due  to  the  ore  and  very  little  to  the  flame. 
When  pig-iron  is  charged  cold  there  is  more  oxidation  during 
melting,  and  the  amount  of  ore  will  be  reduced.  When  a  mixture 
of  pig  and  scrap  is  charged,  the  time  of  melting  is  lengthened  and 
the  stock  is  exposed  longer  to  the  flame  and  the  oxidation  done  by 
the  gases  is  greater. 

SEC.  Xllg. — Gain  in  weight  by  reduction  of  ore. — When  iron 
ore  is  added  to  an  open-hearth  bath,  the  metalloids  are  oxidized  and 
the  iron  is  reduced.  A  certain  amount  of  the  oxide  is  lost  in  the 
slag,  this  amount  varying  with  the  amount  and  the  nature  of  the 
slag.  An  open-hearth  slag  will  usually  carry  about  a  certain  per- 
centage of  iron,  and  the  greater  the  quantity  of  slag  the  greater 
the  loss  of  iron.  Every  pound  of  silicon  in  the  pig-iron  produces 
silica  and  increases  the  amount  of  lime  necessary  and  increases 
the  amount  of  iron  that  must  accompany  the  resultant  cinder. 
Every  pound  of  silica  in  the  ore  and  in  the  lime,  and  every  pound 
from  the  erosion  of  the  bottom  or  the  melting  of  the  roof,  increases 
the  volume  of  the  slag  and  the  loss  of  iron.  Given  the  weight  of 
silica  present,  together  with  the  percentage  of  silica  in  the  slag,  and 
the  weight  of  the  slag  may  be  found  by  simple  division.  A  simpler 
way  of  making  a  rough  estimate  of  the  weight  of  a  basic  slag  is  to 
double  the  amount  of  burned  lime  used,  or  if  limestone  is  added,  the 
weight  of  the  slag  will  be  about  25  per  cent,  more  than  the  weight 
of  the  stone,  for  limestone  is  a  little  over  half  CaO  and  burned  lime 
is  somewhat  less  than  half  CaO,  owing  to  incomplete  burning  and 


METHODS    OF   MANUFACTURE. 


229 


to  moisture.  Open-hearth  slag  contains  from  35  to  45  per  cent,  of 
CaO  and  the  proportions  given  will  hold  good  for  a  rough  calcu- 
lation. The  slag  will  also  carry  about  16  per  cent,  of  iron,  so  that  it 
is  easy  to  find  what  is  carried  away  in  the  cinder.  For  special  in- 
vestigation it  is  necessary  to  have  actual  weights  and  chemical 
analyses. 

In  Section  Xllb  there  were  given  data  on  pig-and-ore  practice 
at  Steelton,  where  the  gain  in  working  cold  pig  was  3.1  per  cent 
and  with  liquid  metal  4.95  per  cent.  It  was  also  pointed  out  that 
the  high  content  of  silicon  in  the  pig-iron  caused  a  loss  of  iron  in  the 
slag  and  that  with  low  silicon  the  loss  would  have  been  about  7 
per  cent.  In  a  paper  by  Mr.  Talbot*  there  are  given  data  on  the 
use  of  pig-iron  with  0.58  per  cent,  of  silicon.  Two  series  of  charges 
are  shown,  on  one  of  which  the  weight  of  the  slag  is  given.  Table 
XII-K  gives  calculations  on  the  amounts  of  metallic  iron ;  all  esti- 
mates are  in  parentheses.  The  weight  of  the  slag  in  the  second 

TABLE  XII-K. 
Distribution  of  the  Metallic  Iron  in  the  Talbot  Furnace. 


First  i 

Series. 

Second  Series 

Additions,  material. 

Per  cent. 
Iron. 

Total 
added. 

Pounds 
Metallic 
Iron. 

Total  added. 

Pounds 
Metallic 
Iron. 

Liquid  pig  

1,053,100 

1,045.900 

Cold  pig  

31  150 

19  400 

Total  Die: 

93  94 

1084  250 

1  084544 

1  065  300 

1  000  743 

Scrap.  .     .......           .... 

99  25 

22750 

22  579 

49  300 

48930 

Ferro 

(12  00) 

4  140 

497 

4  440 

flB 

Silico  

(75  00) 

2260 

1695 

2  200 

1  650 

Ore    

58  00 

89  810 

52  090 

112  400 

65  192 

Cinder 

66  80 

70  150 

46860 

40  000 

26*720 

Scale  

74  50 

91  100 

67  795 

77  600 

57  812 

Manganese  ore  

(20  00) 

23  250 

4,650 

7  600 

1  520 

Total  

1  214  710 

1  203100 

Ingots  

1146294 

1130950 

50  500 

Total 

99  25 

1  184,099 

1  175  218 

1  181  450 

1  172  589 

Metallic  iron  not  appear- 

39492 

SO  511 

Slag  —  (15.13)  per  cent  Fe 

219  000 

33*135 

(215  200) 

32  560 

Iron  unaccounted  for  

6357 

Excess  by  calculation. 

2  049 

Per  cent  unaccounted  for 

00  52 

Per  cent  excesss  ...... 

0.17 

*  Journal  I.  and  8.  /.,  Vol.  I,  l&OO. 


230  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

series  is  calculated  to  give  the  same  weight  per  ton  of  pig-iron  as 
for  the  first  series. 

In  the  discussion  of  Mr.  Talbot's  paper,  Mr.  Monell  gave  figures 
of  the  work  at  Homestead,  but  the  data  were  not  complete  and  a 
calculation  along  the  same  lines  as  the  foregoing  leaves  5.4  per  cent, 
of  metallic  iron  unaccounted  for.  Mr.  Hartshorne*  gives  a  sum- 
mary for  the  work  at  Kladno,  but  this  also  is  incomplete  and  the 
figures  indicate  that  8.2  per  cent,  has  disappeared.  It  is  only  by 
the  most  careful  weighing  that  the  records  can  be  of  value  on  this 
question  of  loss,  for  it  is  easy  to  make  a  mistake  of  one  per  cent,  in 
weighing  the  stock  or  the  ingots.  The  difference  between  a  gain  of 
3  per  cent,  and  4  per  cent,  in  an  open-hearth  furnace  is  a  very  im- 
portant matter,  but  it  is  necessary  to  find  out  whether  it  is  in  the 
operation  of  the  furnace  or  in  keeping  the  accounts. 

When  the  loss  is  found  by  subtracting  the  product  from  the  stock 
used,  it  is  as  if  we  should  determine  the  percentage  of  silicon  in 
pig-iron  by  determining  the  phosphorus,  manganese,  sulphur,  cop- 
per and  metallic  iron,  and  then  subtracting  their  sum  from  one 
hundred  and  calling  the  remainder  silicon.  Every  one  recognizes 
the  error  involved  in  a  "determination  by  difference."  This  method 
has  its  uses,  and  the  determination  is  correct  within  certain  limits, 
but  it  must  not  be  accepted  too  implicitly.  In  important  investiga- 
tions the  slag  should  be  weighed  and  analyzed,  and  if  the  loss  of 
metallic  iron  in  the  slag  agrees  with  the  iron  not  otherwise  ac- 
counted for,  there  is  a  check  on  the  whole  calculation  showing  that 
the  weights  are  right  for  both  metal  and  slag.  The  results  given  by 
Mr.  Talbot  answer  these  conditions  and  are  quoted  here  as  cor- 
roborative of  the  experiments  made  at  Steelton. 

The  whole  matter  of  gain  and  loss  in  open-hearth  practice  is  a 
question  of  terms.  Usually  the  weight  of  the  ore  is  not  reckoned. 
Thus  in  a  heat  of  all  pig-iron  there  will  be  50  tons  of  iron  and  12 
tons  of  ore,  and  if  the  ingots  weigh  50  tons  we  say  the  loss  is  nil, 
disregarding  the  12  tons  of  ore  containing  7  tons  of  metallic  iron. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  add  the  weight  of  the  ore,  we  are  again 
wrong,  for  this  ore  contains  5  tons  of  oxygen,  silica  and  water. 
If  the  actual  content  of  metallic  iron  be  calculated  in  the  ore  addi- 
tion, then  the  percentage  of  water  must  be  allowed  for,  and  if  this 
refinement  be  carried  out,  then  we  must  subtract  the  carbon  and 

*  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  February,  1900. 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE.  231 

silicon  in  the  pig-iron,  which  will  amount  to  5  per  cent,  of  the  total. 
In  the  practical  conduct  of  a  steel  plant  these  data  are  not  neces- 
sary, but  they  become  of  value  in  the  discussion  of  different  meth- 
ods. Thus  Mr.  Talbot  refers  to  the  gain  in  his  process,  and  the 
fact  may  escape  notice  that  a  large  part  of  the  oxide  additions  is 
scale  containing  74.5  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  In  the  case  of  a 
50-ton  charge  using  12  tons  of  ordinary  ore,  carrying  62  per  cent,  of 
iron,  in  the  wet  state,  the  metallic  iron  in  this  addition  will  be 
7.44  tons.  If  the  same  quantity  of  rich  scale  be  used,  the  amount 
of  iron  will  be  8.94  tons,  a  difference  of  1.50  tons  of  metallic  iron 
in  a  charge  of  50  tons,  or  3  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  ingots.  Thus 
the  use  of  rich  scale  instead  of  rich  ore  means  a  gain  of  3  per  cent, 
in  the  ingots,  and  there  is  no  glory  to  be  given  to  the  process  on 
account  of  it  because  it  is  inevitable.  Scale  was  used  to  bring  down 
a  bath  of  pig-iron  long  before  an  open-hearth  furnace  was  built. 
It  has  less  oxidizing  power  per  unit  of  iron  than,  hematite  ore,  so 
that  it  is  possible  to  use  more  than  would  be  used  of  rich  ore  and 
the  extra  iron  is  clear  gain. 

SEC.  Xllh. — The  duplex  process. — The  use  of  all  pig-iron  in  a 
stationary  basic  open-hearth  furnace  is  not  altogether  advantageous, 
and  it  is  an  easy  and  attractive  solution  of  the  problem  to  first  de- 
siliconize  and  partially  decarburize  in  a  Bessemer  converter,  either 
acid  or  basic,  and  then  finish  in  an  open-hearth  furnace,  either  acid 
or  basic.  At  one  works  in  Europe  this  practice  has  been  carried  on 
for  some  years,  and  the  operation  is  an  easy  way  of  making  steel 
from  phosphoric  pig-iron.  I  believe  it  is  an  expensive  way,  for 
more  than  one  reason.  In  the  acid  converter,  the  .loss  will  be  very 
nearly  as  much  as  in  the  making  of  steel.  The  silicon  will  be 
entirely  oxidized  and  the  full  quantity  of  slag  formed.  The  slag 
will  be  somewhat  more  viscous  if  the  charge  is  not  entirely  decar- 
burized,  but  under  these  conditions  the  amount  of  shot  will  be 
more  than  when  the  slag  is  liquid.  The  total  loss  of  iron,  chemically 
combined  and  mechanically  held,  will  be  constant,  whether  the  slag 
be  viscous  or  liquid.  The  carbon  must  be  reduced  to  about  one  per 
cent,  if  the  open-hearth  furnace  is  to  do  its  work  in  quick  time,  and 
we  have  the  following  result : 

Loss  in  the  converter: 


232  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Per  cent. 

Silicon    1.50 

Carbon    3.00 

Iron  in  slag. 

Combined    1.8 

Shot    0.7  2.50 

Total    7.00 

Calculation  of  increment  in  converter: 

100  tons  pig-iron  @  $11.00                          $1100.00 

93  tons  metal  cost  1100.00 

1  ton  metal  11.83 

Increment  .83 

Calculation  of  increment  in  open-hearth  furnace : 

40   tons   metal  @  $11.83  $473.20 

%    ton   ore  @      4.00  2.00 

1/3  ton  ferro  @    60.00  20.00 

39.12  tons  steel  (3%  loss)  495.20 

1  ton  steel  12.66 

Increment  .83 

Synopsis : 

Increment  in  converter 0.83 

Increment   in   open-hearth 0.83 

Total  increment   1.66 

The  term  "increment"  denotes  the  item  of  cost  caused  by  the  oxi- 
dation of  part  of  the  metal,,  and  this  increment  is  the  same  whether 
much  or  little  ore  is  used,  as  the  gain  in  weight  from  reduction 
of  iron  balances  the  cost  of  the  ore.  Whatever  changes  are  made  in 
the  figures,  the  increment  in  the  converter  must  be  nearly  the  same 
as  in  the  manufacture  of  steel,  with  the  exception  of  the  recar- 
burizer,  and  this  is  found  in  the  cost  sheets  of  the  open-hearth  fur- 
nace. With  this  item  omitted,  the  increment  in  the  duplex  process 
will  be  the  sum  of  the  increments  in  the  Bessemer  and  open-hearth 
processes. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  that  the  duplex  process  should  offer 
positive  economies  to  offset  the  higher  increment  charge,  and  this  it 
fails  to  do.  The  cost  of  running  a  Bessemer  plant  for  this  pur- 
pose will  be  almost  exactly  the  same  as  for  making  soft  steel.  There 
is  scarcely  an  item  save  that  of  molds  which  will  not  be  the  same 
as  if  the  molten  metal  from  the  converter  were  to  go  to  a  rolling 
mill.  But  it  does  not  go  to  a  rolling  mill ;  it  goes  to  an  open-hearth 


METHODS   OF   MANUFACTURE.  233 

furnace,  must  be  heated,  ored,  treated  like  any  other  charge  and 
will  take  half  the  time  that  would  be  given  to  an  ordinary  heat  if 
allowance  is  made  for  the  interval  of  making  bottom  and  other 
delays,  which  will  be  a  constant  for  any  charge.  We  have  then 
practically  all  the  increment  of  the  Bessemer  except  the  recar- 
burizer,  and  all  the  increment  of  the  open  hearth,  including  the 
recarburizer ;  we  have  the  total  working  costs  of  the  Bessemer  ex- 
cept the  molds,  and  at  least  half  the  working  costs  of  the  open 
hearth.  The  sum  of  these  items  will  exceed  the  cost  of  making 
steel  by  either  the  Bessemer  converter  alone  or  the  open  hearth 
alone.  Notwithstanding  these  arguments,  there  are  places  where 
this  combined  process  is  advisable.  Thus  in  Alabama  the  ores  and 
coke  are  both  inferior,  and  it  is  difficult  to  make  iron  suitable  for  a 
basic  open  hearth  in  both  silicon  and  sulphur.  The  duplex  process 
answers  this  difficulty  by  permitting  the  blast  furnace  to  run  at  a 
higher  temperature  and  eliminate  the  sulphur  without  such  strin- 
gent specifications  concerning  sulphur. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SEGREGATION  AND    HOMOGENEITY. 

SECTION  Xllla, — Cause  of  segregation. — Every  liquid  has  a 
critical  point  in  temperature  below  which  it  may  not  cool  without 
freezing.  This  transformation  takes  place  by  the  rearrangement 
of  the  molecules  into  crystals,  and  in  this  rearrangement  there  is  a 
tendency  for  each  crystal-forming  substance,  whether  an  element  or 
a  compound,  to  separate  from  any  substance  with  which  it  may  be 
mixed.  This  tendency  will  result  in  a  perfect  isolation  when  the 
substances  have  little  affinity  for  each  other  and  freeze  at  widely 
different  temperatures.  Under  these  circumstances,  if  the  tempera- 
ture be  slowly  lowered,  the  more  easily  frozen  substances  will  almost 
completely  crystallize  out,  leaving  the  more  fusible  in  a  liquid  state. 
The  completeness  of  the  separation  will  be  lessened  by  a  hastening 
of  the  rate  of  cooling,  or  a  greater  similarity  between  the  freezing 
points  of  the  mixed  substances.  It  will  also  depend  upon  the  pro- 
portion of  the  ingredients,  for  it  will  be  more  difficult  for  a  crystal 
to  form  when  its  constituent  molecules  must  find  their  way  out  of 
a  large  mass  of  a  foreign  medium,  and  such  a  crystal  after  so  form- 
ing will  be  more  likely  to  contain  a  certain  proportion  of  the  asso- 
ciated substances.  Under  unfavorable  circumstances,  as  when  the 
rate  of  cooling  is  rapid,  or  when  the  substances  have  nearly  the 
same  freezing  temperature,  or  when  they  have  an  affinity  for  each 
other,  the  differentiation  may  be  so  much  interfered  with  that  there 
is  no  appreciable  separation  of  the  components. 

All  these  unfavorable  conditions  are  present  in  the  solidification 
of  steel. 

First,  the  temperature  of  a  charge,  when  poured  from  a  con- 
verter or  a  furnace,  is  seldom  more  than  50°  C.  above  the  point  of 
incipient  congelation. 

234 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY.  235 

Second,  the  absolute  temperature  is  so  high,  when  compared  with 
everything  with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  that  conduction  and  ra- 
diation proceed  with  excessive  rapidity. 

Third,  in  the  manufacture  of  ingots  for  plates,  beams,  angles, 
and  other  rolled  or  hammered  structural  material,  the  steel  is  cast 
in  direct  contact  with  a  thick  iron  mold,  and  the  absorption  of  heat 
from  the  outside  of  the  liquid  is  so  rapid  that  a  solid  envelope  is 
instantly  formed,  while  the  conducting  power  of  this  envelope  is  so 
great  that  the  heat  is  continually  carried  from  the  interior  to  the 
surface. 

Fourth,  the  different  substances  that  compose  the  steel  have  so 
many  affinities  for  each  other,  and  combine  in  so  many  ways,  that 
it  is  a  gratuitous  hypothesis  to  assume  the  existence  of  a  definite 
carbide,  or  sulphide,  or  phosphide  of  iron,  or  a  carbide,  sulphide,  or 
phosphide  of  manganese. 

No  matter  how  high  or  how  low  the  content  of  metalloids  in  the 
steel,  there  is  always  a  tendency  toward  the  separation  of  crystals 
lower  in  carbon,  sulphur,  and  phosphorus  than  the  average,  so  that 
it  is  logical  to  conclude  that  there  is  a  tendency  for  pure  iron  to 
crystallize,  but  that  this  is  prevented  by  the  affinity  it  has  for  car- 
bon, sulphur,  phosphorus,  silicon,  manganese  and  copper.  This 
affinity,  in  conjunction  with  the  rapid  cooling,  prevents  differentia- 
tion until  a  thick  envelope  has  formed  on  the  outside  of  the  ingot 
to  check  the  loss  of  heat.  Moreover,  the  process  of  segregation  is 
self-corrective  to  some  extent,  since  with  every  step  in  the  con- 
tamination of  the  interior  liquid  there  is  an  increasing  tendency  to 
the  formation  of  impure  crystals. 

The  liquid  center  is  not  homogeneous,  for,  as  the  impurities  are 
eliminated  from  the  solidifying  envelope,  they  form  alloys  or  com- 
pounds which  are  more  fusible  and  of  lower  specific  gravity  than 
the  steel,  so  that  they  float  on  the  surface  of  the  interior  lake.  As 
the  level  of  the  metal  sinks  during  solidification,  this  scum  will  be 
deposited  on  the  walls  of  the  pipe  cavity,  while  the  history  'will 
end  by  the  solidification  of  a  highly  impure  mass  in  the  apex  of  the 
inverted  cone.  When  there  is  only  a  small  proportion  of  sulphur, 
or  phosphorus,  or  carbon,  their  hold  is  so  firm  that  the  iron  cannot 
tear  itself  away,  but  in  larger  proportion  the  affinity  of  the  surplus 
is  weaker.  This  will  explain  why  the  tendency  to  segregation  in- 
creases with  an  increase  in  the  content  of  metalloids.  Manganese, 


236  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

copper  and  nickel  do  not  come  into  this  class,  for  their  chemical 
similarity  to  iron  prevents  their  separation. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  purification  is  so  slight  that  it 
reduces  the  content  of  impurities  in  any  part  of  the  ingot  but  little 
below  the  average,  even  though  it  may  result  in  the  serious  con- 
tamination of  the  small  region  which  is  the  last  to  solidify.  This 
arises  from  the  fact  that  the  surplus  is  concentrated  in  a  very 
small  quantity  of  steel.  Thus,  if  the  ingot  weighs  4000  pounds 
and  contains  0.50  per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  first  3900  pounds  of  steel 
which  solidifies  should  contain  19.5  pounds  of  carbon,  while  the 
last  100  pounds  should  contain  only  0.5  pound;  but  if  there  is  a 
separation  of  two  per  cent,  of  the  impurities  during  the  chilling  of 
the  3900  pounds,  then  this  first  portion  will  hold  only  19.5—0.39=^ 
19.11  pounds  of  carbon,  a  content  of  0.49  per  cent.  The  last  100 
pounds  will  hold  not  only  its  fair  proportion  of  0.5  pound  of  car- 
bon, but  also  the  0.39  pound  rejected  by  the  earlier  solidifying  part, 
and  will  therefore  contain  0.89  per  cent,  of  carbon.  Thus  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  irregularity  can  be  accounted  for  without  as- 
suming any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  metalloids  to  isolate  them- 
selves from  the  iron,  but  by  supposing  a  regular  separation  of  iron 
in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  crystallization. 

In  addition  to  this  elimination  of  iron  there  is  a  definite  process 
of  separation  and  liquation  on  the  part  of  the  metalloids,  which 
sometimes  makes  itself  known  in  the  formation  of  a  very  impure 
spot  in  the  center  of  the  mass.  The  exact  circumstances  under 
which  this  occurs  to  an  excessive  degree  are  not  known.  Slow 
cooling  aids  in  the  work,  and  the  most  marked  cases  are  found  in 
large  masses  of  metal,  but  it  is  also  true  that  both  these  condi- 
tions may  exist  without  marked  irregularity.  The  separation  of 
the  metalloids  probably  does  not  take  place  to  any  great  extent 
until  the  external  envelope  of  the  ingot  is  of  a  considerable  thick- 
ness, so  that  cooling  is  retarded.  When  it  does  occur,  the  com- 
pounds which  are  formed,  being  lighter  than  the  mother  metal,  rise 
to  the  top,  making  the  upper  part  of  the  ingot  richer  in  metalloids 
than  the  normal.  The  lower  part  of  the  ingot  will  contain  less  than 
the  average  content  of  alloyed  elements,  since  whatever  excess  is  in. 
the  top  must  have  been  taken  from  the  bottom. 

For  this  reason  the  center  of  an  ingot  is  not  always  homogeneous, 
but  this  irregularity  is  lessened  in  the  subsequent  working  of  the 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


237 


steel,  particularly  if  it  is  heated  for  a  long  time,  as  in  the  case  of 
large  ingots,  and  also  if  it  undergoes  two  different  heatings  and 
coolings,  as  in  the  case  of  ingots  rolled  into  slabs  or  blooms,  and  then 
reheated  to  be  rolled  into  plates  or  angles.  During  each  heating 
and  rolling  and  cooling  there  must  be  a  redistribution  and  equaliza- 
tion of  carbon  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  cementation,  and  since 
the  largest  ingots  are  kept  longest  in  the  heating  furnaces,  it  fol- 
lows that  this  one  condition  of  larger  mass,  which  is  favorable  to 
segregation,  is  partially  self -corrective. 

The  best-known  paper  on  the  irregularity  of  steel  is  by  Pourcel,* 
but,  unfortunately,  it  reads  like  an  ex  parte  argument  to  prove  that 
because  some  steels  exhibit  serious  irregularities,  therefore  all  steels 
have  the  same  fault.  I  shall  try  to  show  that  all  steels  do  not  ex- 
hibit excessive  concentration  of  impurities,  that  the  highly  segre- 
gated portions  of  an  ingot  are  often  small  isolated  areas  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  mass,  and  that  by  using  a  steel  of  low  phosphorus  it 
may  be  assumed  that  the  finished  material  is  practically  uniform. 

SEC.  XHIb. — Segregation  in  steel  castings. — The  most  extreme 
instances  of  irregularity  would  be  expected  in  large  masses  cast  in 
sand,  and  cooled  slowly.  Pourcel  states  that  in  the  pipe  cavity  of 
such  a  casting  a  cake  of  metal  was  discovered  which  was  separate 
from  the  surrounding  walls.  The  composition  of  this  formation, 
together  with  that  of  the  walls  of  the  pipe  cavity  and  of  the  mother 
metal,  is  given  in  Table  XIII-A.  It  should  be  noted  that  the 
original  metal  contained  a  higher  proportion  of  phosphorus  than, 
should  be  present  in  steel  castings,  so  that  the  conditions  were  fa- 
vorable to  segregation. 

TABLE  XIII-A. 

Extreme  Segregation  in  Pipe  Cavity. 


Origin  of  test. 

Composition  ;  per  cent. 

C. 

Si. 

S. 

P. 

Mn. 

Ladle  test 

.240 
.680 
1.274 

.336 
.326 
.410 

.074 
.325 
.418 

.089 
.818 
.753 

.970 
1.490 
1.080 

Wall  of  pipe 
Cake,  two  in 

cavity               .  .      .         .... 

uhes  thick  in  pipe  cavity  .... 

As  testimony  in  an  opposite  direction,  I  found  no  segregation  in 
a  steel  roll  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company.    This  was 


*  Segregation  and  its  Consequences  in  Ingots  of  Steel  and  Iron.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E., 
Vol.  XXII.  p.  105. 


238 


METALLURGY  OF  IKON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XIII-B. 
Composition  of  a  20-inch  Steel  Roll,  Cast  in  Sand. 


Place  from  which  sample  was  taken. 


Composition ;  per  cent. 


C. 


P. 


Mn. 


S. 


Cu. 


Two  inches  from  outer  surface  .  . 
Five  inches  from  outer  surface  .  . 
Seven  inches  from  outer  surface  . 
Nine  inches  from  outer  surface . 


.42 
.51 


.050 
.058 
.064 
.058 


.46 
.46 
,46 
.46 


.026 
.028 


.12 
.11 

.10 
.14 


a  cylinder  20  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  length  of  31  feet.  A  piece 
four  feet  long  was  cut  from  the  top,  this  amount  having  been 
added  for  a  sink-head,  and  samples  were  taken  at  different  depths 
from  the  outside  to  the  central  axis.  There  were  no  signs  of  piping 
at  this  point,  so  that  the  conditions  are  not  similar  to  those  cited 
from  Pourcel,  but  as  the  general  practice  is  to  remove  all  the  honey- 
combed portion  of  such  a  casting,  the  investigation  is  in  the  line 
of  practical  work.  The  results  are  given  in  Table  XIII-B. 


TABLE  XIII-C. 
Segregation  in  Plate  Ingots. 


Thickness 

of  ingot 
in  inches. 


Part  of  ingot  from  which  sample 
was  taken. 


Composition;  per  cent. 


Carbon, 
by  com- 
bustion. 


Phos- 
phorus. 


Sulphur. 


Preliminary  test .  und. 

Center,  6  inches  from  top .187 

10  Center,  12  inches  from  top 150 

Center,  18  inches  from  top .179 

Center,  24  inches  from  top .183 

Center,  8  inches  from  bottom  ....  .145 

Preliminary  test und. 

Center,  3  inches  from  top .247 

Center,   6  inches  from  top .864 

10          Center,  9  inches  from  top ,.  .840 

Center,  12  inches  from  top .295 

Center,  18  inches  from  top .272 

Center,  8  inches  from  bottom  ....  .275 

Outside,  8  inches  from  top .135 

Center,     8  inches  from  top .278 

Center,     6  inches  from  top .212 

10           Center,   12  inches  from  top .205 

Center,  18  inches  from  top .199 

Center,     8  inches  from  bottom  .  .  .  .159 

Outside,   8  inches  from  bottom  .  .  .  .164 

Outside,  8  inches  from  top .160 

Center,     8  inches  from  top .230 

Center,     6  inches  from  top .199 

10           Center,     9  inches  from  top .213 

Center,   12  inches  from  top .206 

Center,     8  inches  from  bottom  .  .  .  .184 

Outside,  8  inches  from  bottom  .  .  .  .185 


.053 
.075 
.067 
.067 
.062 
.058 


.065 
.054 
.054 
.049 
.044 


.064 
.061 
.088 
.078 
.078 
.081 
.070 


.051 
.044 
.097 


.064 
.057 


.007 
.007 
.008 
.008 
.008 
.007 
.007 


.018 
.029 
.034 
.034 
.029 
.017 
.020 


.054 
.096 
.084 
.090 


.068 
.071 
.042 
.031 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


239 


SEC.  XIIIc. — Segregation  in  ingots  cast  in  iron  molds. — Under 
the  old  system  of  plate  manufacture,  still  carried  out  in  some 
American  works,  an  ingot  is  rolled  into  a  plate  at  one  heat,  and 


§> 


8*1 


<U     iS-iJd 
CQ     «3- 


I! 


f3    * 


II 


9J9M.  S§Uf 


•ui  t 


o 


•g'g 


333 


333 


333 


00< 
00  < 


II! 


ooo 


•saqonr 


when  the  sheets  are  of  large  size,  each  ingot  gives  just  one  plate. 
It  is  of  importance  to  find  whether  such  ingots  are  uniform  through- 


240  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

out,  and  Table  XIII-C  gives  investigations  made  under  my 
supervision. 

Under  another  system  of  plate  rolling,  practiced  at  the  larger 
American  mills,  and  extensively  abroad,  it  is  the  practice  to  make 
larger  ingots  which  are  rolled  into  slabs,  these  being  reheated  for 
the  plate  train.  It  would  be  supposed  that  these  slabs  would  show 
greater  segregation  than  is  found  in  plate  ingots,  but  this  assump- 
tion is  hardly  sustained  by  Table  XIII-D,  which  gives  the  re- 
sults obtained  by  drilling  into  the  axial  line  of  slabs  rolled  from 
large  ingots,  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Co.  The  points 
below  the  top  crop  end,  and  one-third  way  down  the  ingot,  include 
the  most  contaminated  region.  The  concentration  in  these  cases 
probably  marks  the  extent  of  the  action  of  simple  crystallization, 
while  more  extreme  cases  would  represent  the  liquation  of  fusible 
impure  compounds. 

SEC.  XHId. — Homogeneity  in  plates. — The  fact  that  plates  are 
not  homogeneous  when  rolled  from  ordinary  ingots  does  not  be- 
come evident  under  ordinary  inspection,  since,  generally,  only 
one  test-piece  is  taken  from  the  sheet,  and  this  comes  from  the 
edge,  but  it  will  be  shown  by  Table  XIII-E  that  the  variations  are 
by -no  means  unimportant.  The  first  instance  is  from  Pourcel,* 
the  next  three  from  Cunningham,!  while  the  last  two  are  from  my 
own  investigations.  The  data  on  heat  11,393  were  obtained  by  roll- 
ing an  ingot  on  a  universal  mill  into  a  long  plate.  The  upper  third 
of  this  plate  was  sheared  into  16-inch  lengths,  and  tests  taken  along 
the  center  line  and  the  edge.  A  strip  was  also  cut  from  the  bot- 
tom end  of  the  plate  in  the  center  and  on  the  edge.  The  tests  of 
heat  10,768  were  from  a  "pitted"  plate.  The  flaws  in  the  bars  ren- 
der worthless  any  records  of  elongation,  but  the  chemical  results 
are  valuable,  while  the  determinations  of  tensile  strength  are  ap- 
proximately correct.  The  ingot  was  rolled  on  a  shear  mill  to  a 
thickness  of  three-quarter  inch.  The  plate  was  only  112  inches 
long  after  trimming,  so  that  the  seven  tests  represent  the  entire 
length  of  the  sheet. 

A  great  deal  of  this  irregularity  between  different  parts  of  the 
same  plate  may  be  avoided  by  rolling  from  a  slab.  It  would  be 
untrue  to  say  that  segregation  can  be  avoided  by  making  a  larger 

*Loc.cit.  t    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  £.,  XXIII,  p.  626,e*seg. 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


241 


ingot,  or  that  it  can  be  counteracted  by  a  greater  amount  of  work 
upon  the  steel,  but  a  slab  will  usually  give  a  more  uniform  plate. 

TABLE  XIII-E. 
Plates  from   Ordinary  Plate  Ingots. 


Heat 
No. 

Part  of  ingo 
ing  to  the  plj 

t  correspond- 
ice  from  which 
s  taken. 

23^ 

CS  JUJO  0 

5  c  ft5 

HUcr 
£*««> 

s$i 

m 

gooft 

L** 

fill 
~  ~  -•  - 

Composition; 
per  cent. 

Author- 
ity. 

test  wa 

C. 

P. 

8. 

Not 
given. 

TOP           JS, 
Bottom   JJJ 

ra 

65426 
66848 
59636 
59310 

82.0 
27.0 
83.0 
82.5 

'.  !  !  ! 

M 
.82 
.25 

.25 

.050 
.100 
.060 
.060 

.025 
.061 
JOSS 
.022 

PouroeL 

iter     

?e  
iter  

Not 
given. 

T°P           IS, 
Middle    |«« 

Bottom  JS, 

^e 

63600 
63000 
52600 
55900 
65300 
60200 

80.7 
82.0 
28.2 
28.5 
81.5 
24.5 

65.9 
58.6 
58.7 
65.0 
67.9 
48.1 

.15 
.17 
.15 
.16 
.16 
.16 

.021 
.023 
.018 
.022 
.019 
.024 

C'nning- 
ham. 

iter 

^e  . 

iter  . 

ze  . 

!ter  !      .      .  . 

Not 
given. 

Top,  edge   . 
Second  piece 
Third  piece, 
Fourth  piece 
Fifth  piece,  € 
Sixth  piece, 
Seventh  piec 
Eighth  piect 
Ninth  pi°ce, 
Bottom 

75900 
69700 
64200 
65700 
65000 
63700 
66600 
61400 
66600 
64600 

9.5 
20.0 
25.0 
25.0 
27.0 
25.5 
23.8 
26.0 
24.0 
23.8 

• 

.22 
.20 
.18 
.19 
.21 
.19 
.20 
.17 
.19 
.19 

.064 
.058 
.034 
.043 
.036 
.038 
.039 
.030 
.040 
.040 

C'nning- 

ham. 

.edge  . 

edge 

,  edge  

sdge 

edge  

e,  edge  .... 

',  edge 

edge  

Not 
given. 

Edge 

59200 
66600 
67100 
66500 

22.5 
24.5 
23.0 
20.0 

60.8 
59«1 
64.7 
52.0 

.08 
.08 
.09 
.09 

J077 
.151 
.141 
.153 

.040 
.063 
.085 
.085 

C'nning- 
ham. 

4  inches  fron 
8  inches  fron 
Center 

i  edge  
L  edge  

11893 

Preliminary 
Top 

Second  test 
Third  test 
Fourth  test 

Fifth  test 

Sixth  test; 
from  top  of 

Bottom 

test  

5-  ;<IM> 
61600 
65420 
63300 
61490 
62020 
60330 
598CO 
69460 
58940 
59160 
59320 
58920 
54660 
53850 

.077 
.128 
.087 
.110 
.107 
.110 
.109 
.098 
.098 
.098 
.096 
.097 
.097 
.073 
.070 

.045 
.078 
.082 
.068 
.063 
.068 
.064 
.056 
.045 
.056 
.057 
.055 
.042 
.033 
.031 

Author. 

edge  
center  .... 
edge  

28.75 
25.00 
27.00 
27.00 
25.25 
28.50 
26.50 
29.50 
28.50 
27.50 
27.00 
28.75 
84.75 
29.00 

45.9 
44.6 
45.8 
44.3 
88.6 
63.7 
45.8 
62.5 
49.9 
62.0 
47.5 
61.2 
66.4 
61.0 

center  .... 
edffe 

center  .... 
edge 

center  .... 
(  edge  . 

center  .... 
Y9  way  (  edge 
ingot  (  center 
(  edge      .... 

!  center  .... 

10768 

Preliminary 
Top 

Second  test 
Third  test 
Fourth  test 
Fifth  test 
Sixth  test 
Bottom 

test     .  . 

65600 
62180 

.059 
.088 
.095 
.075 
.083 
.051 
.081 
.051 
.084 
.051 
.090 
.062 
.080 
.065 
.075 

.049 
.057 
.058 
.048 
.045 
.031 
.045 
.033 
.050 
.032 
.051 
.088 
.043 
.042 
.038 

Author. 

edge  ..... 

center  .... 
edge  .... 

63840 
61140 
62900 
56090 
61280 
63480 
60620 
63400 
61420 
56920 
61000 
56220 
60220 

center  .... 
edge  .... 
center  .... 
edge 

.... 

.... 

center  .... 
(  edge  

.   .   .   . 

1  center  .... 
iedge  
i  center  .... 
(  edere 

center  .... 

242 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


This  will  be  shown  by  Table  XIII-F,  which  gives  the  results 
obtained  by  testing  the  edge  and  the  middle  of  universal-mill  plates 
which  were  made  from  slabs  from  the  same  ingot.  A  record  was 
kept  of  the  position  of  each  slab,  and  the  tests  were  from  the  top 
end  of  each  plate.  The  list  gives  the  same  information  as  if  the 
whole  ingot  had  been  rolled  into  one  plate  and  cut  up  for  testing. 
The  segregation  in  the  central  axis  is  shown  by  a  slightly  higher 
content  of  metalloids,  and  a  higher  tensile  strength,  but  the  varia- 
tions between  parts  of  the  same  plate,  and  the  variations  between 
different  plates,  are  less  than  shown  in  Table  XIII-E  for  plates 
rolled  directly  from  ingots. 

The  usual  way  of  testing  is  to  take  a  strip  from  a  corner  of  the 

TABLE  XIII-F. 
Universal  Mill  Plates,  Rolled  from  Slabs. 

NOTE.— Plate  No.  1  represents  the  bottom  of  the  ingot,  the  others  being 
numbered  consecutively  toward  the  top. 


Heat  No. 

No,  of  plate. 

Part  of  plate. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Ultimate 
strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches; 
per  cent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  per 
cent. 

Composition; 
per  cent- 

P. 

S 

Mn. 

2906 
Acid. 

1 

Edge, 
Middle, 

33030 

85880 

54040 
55000 

29.50 
27.50 

69.1 
61.8 

066 
.074 

.040 
.040 

.89 
88 

2 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83240 
84870 

54000 
55540 

29.50 
29.00 

638 
61.3 

-068 
,074 

044 
039 

.86 
.87 

8 

Edge, 
Middle, 

82570 
84670 

53220 
55420 

8100 
80.50 

62.5 
621 

.068 
.074 

.040 
040 

.87 
.86 

4 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83430 
85240 

53400 
66450 

31.25 
80.50 

60.6 
68.4 

.054 
.074 

•040 
.045 

.87 
.85 

5 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83270 
84660 

54080 
56840 

3075 
88.00 

60.7 
67.1 

.080 
.088 

.047 
052 

.86 
,85 

6 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83520 
85090 

54380 
67380 

81.00 
29.25 

57.3 

66,7 

.077 
.087 

.05( 
.048 

.87 
.88 

7 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83150 
85110 

54120 
58180 

2925 
2625 

59.5 
66.2 

.071 
,088 

.046 
060 

.86 
.86 

9766 
Basic. 

1 

Edge, 
Middle, 

84050 
81900 

65360 
64440 

29.50 
81.50 

63.2 
64.2 

.007 
.007 

.038 
.032 

45 
48 

2 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83580 
82460 

65350 
63780 

80.50 
81.75 

692 
68.6 

.008 
.007 

.046 
031 

.45 
48 

8 

Edge, 
Middle, 

88210 
83170 

56340 
55240 

2875 
82.50 

67.8 
63.1 

.007 
008 

.040 
.035 

,45 
43 

4 

Edge, 
Middle, 

88580 
82550 

56580 
56020 

80.50 
80.25 

66.5 
60.4 

.007 
.008 

.036 
036 

.45 
.43 

5 

Edge, 
Middle, 

83580 

82800 

56340 
67240 

28.75 
80.00 

582 
68ft 

007 
.008 

042 
.040 

.46 

.44 

SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


243 


plate,  and  Table  XIII-G  gives  the  records  so  obtained  from  one- 
quarter-inch  sheets,  rolled  from  basic  open-hearth  slabs  made  by 
The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company.  The  ingots  from  which  the 
slabs  were  made  varied  in  section  from  26"x24"  to  38"x32",  and 
weighed  from  6  to  10  tons  each.  A  record  was  kept  of  the  part 
of  the  ingot  from  which  each  slab  came,  and  the  corresponding 
plates  were  tested  both  in  the  natural  and  in  the  annealed  states. 
The  table  gives  only  the  results  on  annealed  bars,  for  by  the  re- 
heating and  cooling  the  artificial  effects  of  cold  finishing  were 
avoided,  and  all  test-pieces  were  brought  to  a  common  ground  of 
comparison.  The  plates  of  any  one  heat  are  all  of  one  thickness, 
the  discard  of  other  sizes  accounting  for  the  missing  members.  In 
each  case  the  order  in  the  list  follows  the  order  in  the  ingot  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  the  plates  from  the  top  give  a  slightly  higher 
strength  than  those  from  the  bottom,  but  the  variations  are  unim- 
portant, not  being  as  great  as  will  often  be  found  in  different  parts 
of  a  single  plate  rolled  from  an  ordinary  plate  ingot. 

The  carbon  determinations  in  Table  XIII-G  are  inaccurate,  since 


TABLE  XIII-G. 
Annealed  Bars  from  Plates  Eolled  from  Basic  Slabs. 

NOTE.— Carbon  was  determined  by  color  and  is  therefore  unreliable. 


- 

s 

1 

1 

fl 
EH 

Part  of  ingot  from 
which  slab  was 
cut. 

Ult.  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

*S 

oo  - 

CS 
ll 

~  aa 

-  0 

bed 
C  o 

oa 
S 

Reduction  of 
area;  percent. 

Chemical  composition; 
per  cent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

8. 

inch. 
1st  ingot. 

Top, 
Bottom, 

49080 
48330 
47750 
48500 
47810 
46970 
48200 

81830 
81170 
29980 
81760 
81110 
80690 
81000 

86.75 
82.00 
84.50 
29.50 
83.00 
35.00 
32.50 

65.3 
63.6 
67.0 
66.3 
68.1 
64.5 
64.3 

.11 
.15 
.16 
.13 
.12 
.12 
.11 

.015 
.018 
.015 
.013 
.015 
.015 
.017 

.31 
.82 
.32 
.81 
.81 
.31 
.31 

.027 
.020 
.022 
.023 
.023 
.019 
.025 

Average, 

48091 

81077 

33.32 

65.6 

.13 

.015 

.81 

.023 

^ 
3    „• 

s, 

rt 

5 

Top, 
Bottom, 

49380 
48010 
48760 
49170 
49040 
47670 
46860 

82080 
28760 
82030 
82010 
29940 
30090 
81380 

33.00 
83.00 
33.75 
82.00 
81.75 
33.00 
82.50 

64.2 
65.7 
64.9 
64.2 
60.7 
63.8 
65.3 

.10 
.16 
.13 
.13 
.12 
.14 
.11 

.016 
.018 
.018 
.015 
.014 
.013 
.013 

.31 
.35 
.31 
.32 
.31 
.34 
.32 

.025 
.023 
.026 
.024 
.025 
.019 
.021 

Average, 

48413 

80899 

82.71 

64.1 

.13 

.015 

.32 

J023 

244 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XIII-G. — Continued. 


i 

-a 
& 

1 

1 
& 

5 

a 

ft 

0 

I 

s 

H 

Part  of  ingot 
from  which 
slab  was  cut. 

Ult.  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation  in  8 
in.;  percent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  perct. 

Chemical  composition  ; 
percent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

S. 

A 
§ 

5 
3 

43* 

i 

a 
I 

Top, 
Bottom, 

51040 
51660 
51620 
51760 
51200 
60470 
50260 
60820 

82710 
83080 
82180 
82230 
81730 
82310 
83340 
82320 

81.00 
30.50 
83.00 
82.50 
31.50 
82.75 
82.50 
33.00 

63.8 
64.1 
62.8 
63.3 
61.1 
61.8 
62.6 
62.1 

.13 
.12 
.13 
.14 
.13 
.12 
.10 
.10 

.014 
.014 
.018 

.on 

.017 
.006 
.012 
.016 

.48 
.46 
.42 
.44 
.41 
.45 
.45 
.47 

.014 
.021 
.025 
.024 
.024 
.028 
.020 
.021 

Average, 

51104 

82488 

32.09 

62.7 

.12 

.014 

.45 

022 

1 

5 
S 

Top, 
Bottom, 

52160 
52050 
52240 
50600 
50820 
503GO 
50530 
49880 

82450 
81330 
32940 
83020 
32240 
32470 
32240 
31850 

82.00  - 
82.00 
83.00 
81.00 
82.25 
82.50 
82.75 
34.50 

67.0 
60.7 
62.6 
61.0 
61.2 
63.5 
60.0 
62.8 

.14 
.12 
.11 
.11 
.12 
.13 
.12 
.11 

.009 
.017 
.018 
.013 
.014 
.005 
.018 
.012 

.45 
.46 
.47 
.46 
.44 
.45 
.46 
.46 

.025 
.024 
.023 
.016  • 
.022 
.028 
.018 
.016 

Average, 

51080 

82318 

32.50 

61.1 

.12 

.013 

.46 

.021 

|  8217.  50-ton  heat.  | 

,c 
§ 

3 

< 

t 

5 

-4-3 

02 

J 

3, 

5 
S 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

52620 
52210 
50940 
50360 
50000 

82860 
86130 
31780 
80590 
81840 

31.00 
82.50 
82.00 

28.75 
31.50 

60.2 
65.0 
65.7 
60.0 
56.4 

.16 
.16 
.14 
.15 
.14 

.019 
.019 
.016 
.019 
.016 

.44 
.43 

.44 
.44 
.44 

.032 
.032 
.028 
.029 
.025 

51226 

32640 

81.15 

61.5 

.15 

.018 

.44 

.029 

Top, 
Bottom, 

51880 
53060 
52820 
52970 
52870 
50860 
50000 
50950 

8C380 
30660 
85450 
32540 
81340 
80070 
83730 
81280 

82.50 
28.75 
27.00 
81.25 
31.75 
32.50 
85.00 
35.50 

65.5 
55.2 
62.2 
58.9 
57.9 
61.4 
62.7 
64.5 

.14 
.15 
.16 
.15 
.15 
.15 
.14 
.14 

.017 
.024 
.021 
.017 
.019 
.019 
.017 
.016 

.42 
.44 
.44 
.44 
.44 
.44 
.11 
.44 

.029 
.033 
.031 
.030 
.032 
.029 
.029 
.025 

Average, 

51926 

32681 

31.78 

61.0 

.15 

.019 

.44 

.030 

1  8226.  50-ton  heat.  1 

.£ 

o 

.2 

3 
^ 

t 

d 

i 

j 

g) 
_a 

i 

I 

d 

i 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

54160 
53810 
54460 
51200 
53000 
51740 
52420 
53020 

88230 
88210 
88070 
85500 
88370 
37310 
87200 
87600 

26.00 
27.25 
28.25 
31.00 
80.50 
31.00 
27.50 
31.25 

61.5 
60.1 
61.4 
61.0 
60.9 
64.9 
65.2 
66.3 

.13 
.13 
.12 
.13 
.12 
.11 
.11 
.12 

.039 
.033 
.038 
.023 
.031 
.031 
.030 
.033 

.152 
.28 
.32 
.28 
.37 
.81 
.29 
.29 

.050 
.058 
.050 
-028 
.051 
.047 
.046 
.050 

52980 

87561 

29.09 

63.0 

.12 

.032 

.81 

.043 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

54070 
64130 
61520 
62520 
62980 

88520 
88350 
86090 
38130 
87770 

27.50 
30.25 
26.00 
30.25 
31.00 

64.4 
63.8 
65.6 
63.8 
66.0 

.12 
.13 
.13 
.11 
.12 

.036 
.037 
.036 
.031 
.031 

.34 
.31 
.31 
.31 
.23 

.053 
.053 
.057 
.048 
.044 

53044 

87772 

29.00 

64.7 

.12 

.034 

.21 

.052 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

54850 
54480 
53960 
53580 
68130 

87830 
36560 
38520 
87860 
37260 

80.00 
28.75 
29.50 
28.75 
25.75 

61.9 
63.8 
63.8 
63.8 
54.3 

.13 
.13 
.12 
.12 
.12 

.037 
.035 
.034 
.033 
.031 

.26 
.80 
.32 
.32 
.82 

.050 
.048 
.047 
.045 
.047 

54000 

87606 

28.55 

61.4 

.12 

.034 

.30 

.049 

SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 

TABLE  XIII-G.— Continued. 


245 


Seat  No.  1 

Thick,  of  plate. 

Part  of  ingot 
from  which 
slab  was  out. 

Ult.  strength  ; 
pounds  per 
.  square  Inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation  in  8 
in.;  percent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  perct. 

Chemical  composition; 
per  cent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

8. 

I  8288.  60-ton  heat. 
All  U  inch. 

1st  ingot. 

Top. 

Bottom, 
Average, 

50270 
51630 
49180 
50240 
53520 

86880 
36510 
85130 
86090 
86150 

81.75 
82.00 
30.75 
29.25 
81.00 

60.3 
64.0 
58.8 
59.2 
63.4 

.12 
.11 
.11 
.11 
.18 

.027 
.028 
.019 
.024 
.014 

.35 
Jfl 
.87 
.36 
.43 

.088 
.02T 
.027 
.090 
!OB1 

50968 

86152 

80.95 

61.0 

.12 

.021 

.87 

.029 

2d  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

53010 
53620 
51520 
50400 
52730 

87030 
89140 
84270 
87330 
86810 

27.50 
25.76 
25.50 
24.75 
28.50 

61.1 
61.1 
58.0 
56.1 
58.0 

.12 
.18 
.11 
.12 
.13 

.027 
.027 
.021 
.025 
.022 

.33 

.88 
.38 
.40 

.88 

.089 
.085 
.082 
.028 
.031 

52256 

86916 

26.40 

58.9 

.12 

.024 

.37 

.038 

8d  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

52610 
51540 
52760 
52550 
51480 

86970 
85700 
86940 
87040 
40480 

31.25 
27.00 
83.00 
82.00 
28.76 

60.4 
61.5 
65.0 
62.8 
66.0 

.13 
.12 
.11 
.11 
.11 

.034 
.030 
.026 
.028 
.020 

.88 
.37 
.87 

.86 

.89 

.040 
.088 
.088 
.028 
.028 

52188 

87426 

80.40 

61.0 

.12 

.028 

.87 

.082 

1 

I 

A 

• 

1st  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

5C080 
55580 
54820 
54280 
54360 

85800 
84920 
84450 
35320 
84400 

30.00 
28.00 
81.25 
81.25 
30.50 

60.0 
59.0 
62.0 
63.0 
62.2 

.19 
.14 
.18 
.14 
.17 

.025 
.019 
.019 
.028 
.022 

.48 
.46 
.46 
.46 
.47 

.080 
.024 
.028 
.025 
.021 

55024 

84996 

80.20 

61.2 

.15 

.022 

.47 

.026 

J 

5 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

55680 
55210 
54120 
53200 
54180 

85380 
34580 
35950 
84460 
84700 

81.50 
29.50 
81.25 
31.25 
81.75 

59.2 
62.8 
61.2 
62.7 
60.9 

.11 
.12 
.14 
.12 
.18 

.024 
.024 
.021 
.020 
.021 

.49 
.48 
.47 
.46 
.49 

.027 
.027 
.'C26 
.020 
.021 

64478 

85014 

81.05 

61.3 

.12 

.022 

.48 

.024 

11  TO  111UU. 

8d  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

54000 
55120 
54180 
53940 
53400 

85440 
86310 
85060 
84460 
83590 

81.50 
29.50 
80.75 
80.00 
81.25 

62.8 
63.8 
62.9 
65.4 
63.6 

.14 
.18 
.17 
.14 
.15 

.020 
.025 
.024 
.019 
.019 

.46 
.48 
.45 
.46 
.46 

.021 
.027 
.028 
.022 
.020 

54128 

84972 

80.60 

63.7 

.15 

.021 

.46 

.024 

. 

4th  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

55120 
54280 
53980 
52720 
54720 

84300 
84940 
85230 
33400 
84340 

80.50 
29.50 
28.00 
32-50 
81.75 

62.6 
61.9 
63.3 
63.8 
63.2 

.16 
.15 
.18 
.14 
.14 

.021 
.024 
.022 
.021 
.023 

.47 
.47 
Jl 

.46 
.46 

.027 
.025 
.041 
.024 
.025 

54164 

84442 

80.45 

63.0 

.14 

.022 

.48 

.028 

3I 

Top, 
Bottom, 
Average, 

53970 
54640 
53590 

35710 
84410 
33210 

80.25 
83.00 
82.00 

65.3 
63.9 
64.9 

.16 
.16 
J2 

.023 
.021 
.019 

.48 
.47 
.46 

.024 
.024 
.021 

54067 

84443 

81.75 

64.7 

.15 

.021 

.47 

.023 

51 
»£ 

Top, 
Bottom, 
Average, 

53550 
54550 
55560 

85420 
36180 
87360 

81.75 
82.00 
28.25 

62.6 
64.6 
60.C 

.15 
.12 
.15 

.022 
.021 
.024 

.48 
.49 
.49 

.028 
.026 
.022 

54553 

36320 

80.67 

62.4 

.14 

.022 

.49 

.024 

246 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

TABLE  XIII-G.— Continued. 


1 

3 

1 

-4 

Part  of  ingot 
from  which 
slah  was  cut. 

Ult.  strength  ; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation  in  8 
in.;  percent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  perct. 

Chemical  composition; 
per  cent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

8. 

1st  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

49880 
49150 
48190 
48190 

29740 

29680 
80030 
80270 

81.75 
83.00 
83.00 
80.25 

68.5 
63.5 
67.1 
60.8 

.11 
.10 

.11 
.11 

.017 
.017 
.016 
.016 

.82 
.85 
.26 
.85 

.040 
.041 
.088 
.043 

48853 

29930 

32.00 

60.0 

.11 

.017 

.32 

.039 

-*  i 

o  fl- 
ea •*•' 

5» 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

50480 
49030 
47740 
48310 

28570 
81880 
29930 
80430 

80.75 
83.75 
83.25 
83.00 

61.0 
62.6 
63.9 
64.7 

.13 
.12 
.10 
.11 

.019 
.018 
.017 
.019 

.83 
.88 
.83 
.81 

.048 
.088 
.035 
.086 

48890 

80203 

82.69 

63.1 

.12 

.018 

.33 

.088 

",| 

Top, 
Bottom, 

Average, 

49630 
48910 

80410 
80510 

80.00 
80.50 

64.0 
63.0 

.11 
.10 

.017 
.017 

.86 
.85 

.024 
.083 

49270 

80460 

80.25 

63.5 

.10 

.017 

.86 

.029 

«! 

Top, 
Bottom, 
Average, 

48440 
47COO 
47260 

80460 
80530 
29850 

82.00 
84.00 
81.25 

65.9 
67.2 
58.0 

.10 
.11 
.13 

.019 
.017 
.016 

.82 
.85 
.85 

.086 
.036 
.084 

47767 

80280 

82.42 

60.4 

.11 

.017 

.84 

.085 

4 

43  O 

«  So 
d 

Top, 
Bottom, 
Average, 

50660 
50860 
63860 

82710 
80480 
83710 

85.00 
83.25 

29.25 

64.7 
63.8 
68.6 

.13 
.13 
.11 

.017 
.021 
.025 

.45 
.44 

.46 

.022 
.028 
.087 

51793 

82300 

82.50 

62.4 

.12 

.021 

.45 

.029 

1" 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

54080 
52680 
51520 
50750 
50280 

83970 
84100 
82140 
82840 
81760 

80.00 
81.25 
83.00 
83.25 
81.75 

59.4 
63.9 
61.0 
64.2 
65.2 

.15 
.15 
.12 
.14 
.13 

.024 
.022 
.018 
.020 
.013 

.46 
.46 
.44 
.44 
.43 

.031 
.029 
.026 
.023 
.022 

51862 

82962 

81.85 

62.7 

.14 

.019 

.45 

.026 

OTg 

3d  ingot. 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

63440 
61620 
50660 
49260 

82440 
83400 
62650 
81460 

82.50 
82.75 
81.25 
81.00 

60.7 
65.1 
61.9 
65.0 

.11 
.13 

.14 
.15 

.024 
.019 
.021 
.020 

.42 
.42 
.42 
.41 

.030 
.029 
.027 
.026 

51245 

82488 

81.88 

63.2 

.13 

.021 

.42 

.028 

1 
d 

A 

4» 
••* 

Top, 

Bottom, 
Average, 

62060 
54260 
62880 
60890 

82460 
84450 
33450 
82090 

81.75 
80.00 
29.50 
83.75 

64.2 
69.4 
62.8 
61.4 

.15 
.17 
.14 
.10 

.028 
.026 
.024 
.018 

.44 
.44 
.45 
.42 

.030 
.028 
.030 
.029 

62523 

83113       81.25 

62.0 

.14 

.024 

.44 

.029 

they  were  made  by  the  color  method.  The  work  was  performed  by 
men  who  are  regularly  engaged  in  doing  nothing  else,  and  without 
any  attempt  at  extra  care,  but  in  order  to  see  whether  there  really 
were  any  such  differences  in  composition  as  the  records  would 
indicate,  the  samples  showing  the  widest  variations  in  three  heats 
were  reworked  twice  by  color  and  once  by  combustion ;  the  results 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


247 


are  given  in  Table  XIII-H,  and  show  that  the  variations  in  any 
one  heat  are  in  the  third  place  from  the  decimal  point. 

TABLE  XIII-H. 
Variations  in  Carbon  Content  Due  to  Analytical  Errors. 

Group  A  is  made  up  of  pieces  showing  the  highest  carbons  in  the  heat,  and  Group 
B  of  those  showing  the  lowest. 


Heat  No. 

Group. 

Composition;  percent. 

Original  as  giren  in  Table  IIH-G. 

Reworked. 

Carbon  by 
color. 

P. 

Mn. 

Duplicate 

determi- 
nations by 
color. 

Average  of 
group  by 
combustion. 

5633 

A 

.15 
.16 

.018 
.015 

.82 
.82 

.13 
.13 

.14 
.13 

.118 

B 

.11 

.015 

.81 

.13 

.14 

.124 

8384 

A 

.19 
.17 
.17 

.025 
.022 
.024 

.48 
.47 
.45 

.18 
.17 
.15 

.19 
.18 
.16 

.166 

B 

.11 
.12 
.12 

.024 
.024 
.020 

.49 
.48 
.46 

.17 
.15 
.16 

.17 
.16 
.17 

.158 

8286 

A 

.15 
.17 

.028 
.026 

.44 
.44 

.14 
.14 

.14 
.15 

.150 

B 

.11 
.10 

.024 
.018 

.42 
.42 

.13 
.14 

.13 

.14 

.149 

SEC.  Xllle. — Acid  rivet  and  angle  steel. — A  good  opportunity 
of  investigating  the  homogeneity  of  a  heat  of  steel  occurs  in  the 
manufacture  of  rivet  rods  and  angles,  where  tests  may  be  taken 
from  many  different  members.  In  the  case  of  rivet  rods,  the  test- 
pieces  represent  the  entire  cross-section  of  the  ingot,  and  include  the 
segregated  portions.  Table  XIII-I  gives  records  obtained  from 
several  tests  taken  at  random  from  the  rivet  rods  from  five  differ- 
ent heats,  without  any  knowledge  as  to  what  part  of  the  heat  or 
what  part  of  the  ingot  the  tests  came  from.  The  natural  bars  are 
arranged  in  the  order  of  tensile  strength,  while  in  parallel  columns 
are  the  results  obtained  by  annealing  the  same  bar.  Although  all 
the  pieces  of  one  heat  were  annealed  at  the  same  time,  and  with 
care  to  have  all  conditions  uniform,  the  variations  in  the  strength 
of  the  treated  bar  are  independent  of  the  variations  in  the  natural 
bar.  This  would  indicate  that  the  differences  are  due  to  irregulari- 
ties in  rolling  and  to  determinative  errors  rather  than  to  variations 
in  the  metal. 


248 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


In  further  proof  of  this,  drillings  were  taken  from  the  three  an- 
nealed bars  of  heat  10,168,  which  showed  the  highest  tensile 
strength,  and  from  the  three  which  were  weakest.  The  results  are 
given  in  Table  XIII-J. 

The  ingots  from  which  these  rods  were  made  measured  16"x20" 
in  cross-section  and  weighed  about  two  tons  each.  In  the  case  of 
angles,  experiments  were  made  at  Steelton  on  ingots  having  a 
cross-section  24"x26"  and  weighing  five  tons.  Blooms  from  several 
such  ingots  were  stamped  so  as  to  denote  from  what  part  of  the 


TABLE  XIII-I. 
Eivet  Rounds  from  Different  Parts  of  the  Same  Heats. 

All  steels  were  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Co. 


la 

o>|ee 


H 
I? 

Average, 


§§ 

o 


Ultimate 
strength;  pounds 
per  square  inch. 


61260 


60800 
60720 
60210 
60010 
59970 
59710 


60260 


55640 
54760 
52700 
55130 


54340 
54040 
54600 


Elastic  limit; 

pounds  per 

square  inch. 


43960 
42430 
42790 
43600 
41160 
41720 
40770 
40900 
40920 
40320 


54500  I   41860 


•8 


34420 
34840 


84700 
84040 
84040 
83840 
84320 
34120 


34220 


Elongation  in 

8 inches;  per 

cent. 


31.25 
82.00 
82.00 
81.25 
80.50 
80.50 
80.50 
82.50 
83.00 
84.50 


81.80 


30.00 
29.50 
81.50 
32.50 
80.75 
32.50 
82.00 
82.50 
30.00 
33.00 


31.42 


Reduction  of 

area;  per 

cent. 


60.30 
62.73 
65.25 


62.60 
66.76 
63.97 


57.70 


63.55 


66.24 
65.91 


67.87 
65.68 
67.74 
64.92 
68.78 


68.05 


66.54 


a 


" 


56040 
56000 
55520 
55420 
55080 
55040 
54980 
54950 


50520 


51000 
49460 
51170 
50400 
50640 


Average,* 


64720 


50940 


55260 


87710 
37800 
87890 
37360 


80700 
81750 
31165 


81475 


37710 
87800 


81345 
81970 
81900 


83.25 
35.00 
81.50 
81.75 
83.00 
84.75 
83.00 
81.75 
83.00 
33.75 


34.75 
34.25 
85.75 
84.50 
84.75 
34.50 
85.50 
35.00 
85.00 
85.75 


65.73 
64.26 
61.86 
62.18 
56.03 
65.48 
59.64 
67.02 
64.09 
65.25 


66.70 


66^4 
67.97 
68.70 


68.04 
67.85 


87520 


81210 


83.07 


84.97 


62.15 


&1 

0  Id 


54000 
53500 
63400 


S 


Average, 


53300 
52620 
52620 
62620 
51910 
51900 


49460 
48520 
48290 
48460 
49760 
48640 
48520 
49230 
48410 


35960 
85710 


35080 
85950 
86230 
84840 


80990 
81220 
31520 
31190 
81370 
82710 
30490 
80590 


83.75 
84.50 


83.75 


62.30 


83.75 
83.75 
33.75 
33.75 
81.25 


85.50 
82.50 


36.25 


83.75 


35.00 
34.50 
83.75 


64.05 
66.49 
61.57 
68.27 
65.29 
62.04 
58.68 
63.72 


70.59 
68.27 


68.77 
68.14 
67.52 
69.43 


67.98 
66.95 


81800 


88.40 


84.80 


63.57 


68.64 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 

TABLE  XIII-I.— Continued. 


249 


Aoid  open-hearth.  |  Kind  of  steel. 
>  110,000  pounds.  1  Weight  of  charee.  1 

DiatiH'Icr  ot'bar. 

Composition;  per 
cent. 

Ultimate 
strength;  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation  in 
8  inches;  per 
cent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  per 
cent. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

I 

A 

1 

or 

JL 
1|| 

v'r'ge 

j 
f 

age, 

55480 
S480 

65430 
65400 

55160 
54770 
54750 
54690 
54520 
54220 

49460 
49940 
49460 
49700 
49700 
60720 
60420 
50010 
60880 
49770 

37600 
36670 
88400 
37250 
87950 
37600 
38400 
89120 
88340 
3-.'  <J 

29870 
80350 
30110 
81300 
82730 
81760 
82740 
82470 
82230 
32230 

82.50 
82.50 
83.25 
80.00 
80.00 
82.50 
83.75 
82.75 
83.00 
83.75 

28.75 
31.25 
81.75 
35.00 
82.50 
80.00 
33.75 
82.50 
81.25 
83.75 

67.45 

68.22 
68.40 
64.67 
64.97 
69.68 
63.15 
67.35 
67.17 
66.57 

65.80 
65.30 
67.70 
69.22 
69.22 
64.62 
61.12 
67.96 
67.25 
69.47 

54990 

60006 

38053 

81578 

82.40 

32.05 

66.76 

66.72 

55000 
54780 
54700 
54180 
54170 
53880 
63770 
MfflO 
52860 
62600 

60230 
49170 
50880 
48820 
48290 
18080 
60520 
49060 
60160 
60640 

87710 

87100 
86750 
87450 
86580 
86320 
85610 
85960 
35700 
85360 

81950 
80310 
81620 

area 

80840 
80730 
81670 
81120 
81920 
82400 

81.75 
83.75 
82.50 
81.75 
81.25 
81.00 
82.50 
82.75 
83.25 
33.00 

83.75 
86.00 
84.00 
85.00 
84.00 
86.00 
84.00 
85.50 
85.50 
85.00 

66.31 
62.83 
60.11 
62.30 
67.83 
60.20 
60.02 
65.73 
61.39 
68.49 

70.77 
68.77 
66.70 
68.77 
68.77 
68.43 
65.08 
69.76 
69.57 
68.62 

63970 

49670 

86450 

31340 

32.35 

84.87 

63.52 

68.52 

Basic  open-hearth. 
>  40,000  pounds. 

2  %inch. 

1. 

s 

7 

age, 

48340 
47380 

48230 
49175 
48560 
47730 
48785 
48640 
49440 
47835 
48050 
IBM 
48400 

33065 
31530 
83650 
31600 
83340 
32760 
33260 
82130 
82935 
83270 
82900 
81920 
82185 
88880 

84.50 
85.00 
85.00 
87.00 
86.25 
33.75 
85.00 
84.00 
84.25 
84.00 

71.87 
72.05 
72.05 
74.14 
70.09 
72.95 
74.49 
71.80 
71.92 
71.48 



.'.'.'.'. 



84.00 
83.75 
86.25 
83.75 

72.72 
71.42 
74.28 
73.64 



48384 

82745 

84.75 

72.49 

.... 

ingot  each  one  came,  and  drillings  were  taken  from  the  corre- 
sponding finished  angles.  The  results  are  given  in  Table  XIII-K, 
and  show  that  each  ingot  was  practically  uniform.  The  drillings 
include  the  center  of  the  bar,  which  is  the  most  impure  portion. 
In  each  case  the  first  bloom  in  the  list  is  the  top  of  the  ingot,  and 
the  last  is  the  bottom;  the  varying  number  of  blooms  in  the  in- 
gots arises  from  the  different  weight  of  the  angles. 

SEC.   XHIf. — High-carbon  steels. — It  would  be  expected  that 
segregation  would  be  most  marked  in  ingots  of  high  carbon,  be- 


250 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XIII-J. 

Rivet  Rods  from  Heat  10,168,  which  showed  the  Greatest  Differ- 
ences in  the  Tensile  Strength  of  the  Annealed  Bars. 


Nature  of  Sample. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per  sq.  inch. 

Composition;  percent/ 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

C. 

P. 

S. 

Mn. 

Preliminary  test  
Average  of  strongest  three 
bars  of  %  inch  diameter.  .  . 
Average  of  weakest   three 
bars  of  %  inch  diameter  .  .  . 

52280 
53690 
54077 

.12 
.12 
.15 

.013 
.013 

.MS 

.024 
,019 
.024 

.29 
.30 
.30 

60680 
48680 

cause  such  metal  remains  liquid  for  a  long  time,  but  even  under 
these  conditions  separation  of  the  impurities  does  not  always  oc- 
cur. This  will  be  shown  by  Tables  XIII-L  and  XIII-M,  which 
give  the  results  of  investigations  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany. The  data  on  carbon  in  Table  XIII-L  are  of  little  impor- 
tance, for  a  color  determination  is  well-nigh  worthless  on  high 
steels. 

The  determinations  of  carbon  in  Table  XIII-M  are  made  by  com- 
bustion and  are  accurate,  and  they  show  a  considerable  variation  in 
the  distribution  of  this  element;  this  might  be  expected  when  a 
large  proportion  is  present,  and  its  hold  upon  the  iron  correspond- 
ingly less  firm.  The  sulphur  and  phosphorus  are  regular,  the  varia- 
tions in  the  purer  metal  being  almost  within  the  limits  of  error. 
In  the  ingot  of  medium  phosphorus,  the  percentage  of  variation 
is  no  more  than  in  the  others,  but  the  actual  range  is  greater.  Al- 
though this  would  follow  naturally,  it  is  possible  to  show,  by  an 
incident  which  happened  under  my  own  observation,  that  concen- 
tration does  not  always  occur,  even  in  the  case  of  impure  steels. 

A  50-ton  acid  open-hearth  charge  had  been  made  containing  .46 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  together  with  unusually  high  manganese,  phos- 
phorus, and  silicon.  The  ingots  had  a  cross-section  of  16"x20", 
and  weighed  4000  pounds  each.  In  loading  them,  one  fell  over 
and  "bled"  at  the  top.  The  amount  of  liquid  metal  thus  lost  did 
not  exceed  25  pounds,  although  the  cavity  was  completely  emptied, 
so  that  if  segregation  existed  to  any  considerable  extent  it  should 
appear  in  this  metal  which  remained  liquid  to  the  last.  Table 
XIII-N  will  show  that  little  segregation  had  taken  place. 

SEC.  Xlllg. — Acid  open-hearth  nickel  steel. — It  is  the  impres- 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


251 


sion  among  manufacturers  of  nickel  steel  that  this  element  pre- 
vents segregation.  In  order  to  have  some  evidence  upon  this  point, 
an  investigation  was  conducted  on  an  ingot  of  nickel  steel  made 


by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company.  The  cross-section  of  the  in- 
got was  18"x20",  and  the  weight  5500  pounds.  This  was  rolled 
into  a  piece  16  inches  wide,  5  inches  thick,  and  20  feet  long,  and 
cut  into  five  slabs.  The  top  slab  was  rolled  into  a  three-eighth-inch 


252 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XIII-L. 

Distribution  of  Elements  in  a  High-Carbon,  Low-Phosphorus, 
Open-Hearth  Ingot,  14  inches  square,  63  inches  long. 

NOTE.— Made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company.    Carbon  was  determined  by 
color,  and  is,  therefore,  only  approximate. 


Part  of  the  ingot  from  which 
test  was  taken. 

§"2£d 
S'oSTl  . 

^•S^flCD 

fiHl 

Composition;  percent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

Average. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

Pour  inches  from  bottom, 

2 

4 
6 

7 

.79 
.78 
.79 
.72 

.013 
.015 
.013 
.012 

.20 
.20 
.19 
.19 

.77 

.013 

.20 

Fifteen  inches  from  bottom, 

2 
4 
6 

7 

.77 
.87 
.84 
.78 

.011 
.015 
.011 
.011 

.20 
.20 
.20 
.19 

.81 

.012 

.20 

Twenty-six  inches  from  bottom, 

2 
4 

6 

7 

.80 
.89 
.85 
.81 

.012 
.014 
.014 
.009 

.18 
.21 
.21 
.20 

.84 

.012 

.20 

Thirty-seven  inches  from  bottom, 

2 
4 

6 

7 

.77 
.90 
.89 
.88 

.011 
.014 
.015 
.012 

.20 
.21 
.20 
.20 

.85 

.013 

.20 

Forty-eight  inches  from  bottom; 
all  above  this  would  be  cut  off  as 
scrap  when  the  ingot  is  rolled, 

2 
4 
6 

7 

.79 
.91 
.89 
.94 

.011 
.014 
.016 
.014 

.21 
.20 
.19 
.21 

.88 

.014 

.20 

Four  Inches  from  top, 

2 
4 

6 

7 

.74 
.90 
.95 
1.06 

.010 
.016 
.017 
.023 

.21 
.21 
.21 
.21 

.91 

.016 

.21 

universal  plate,  the  second  slab  into  a  three-eighth-inch  sheared 
plate,  the  third  slab  into  a  half-inch  universal  plate,  the  fourth  slab 
into  a  half-inch  sheared  plate,  and  the  fifth  slab  was  hammered 
into  a  bloom  and  rolled  into  6"x4"  angles. 

Each  end  of  each  slab  was  marked  so  as  to  note  whether  it  was 
toward  the  top  or  bottom  of  the  ingot,  and  the  location  of  each 
test-piece  in  each  plate  was  kept  on  record.  Table  XIII-0  gives 
the  results  obtained  from  the  different  strips,  while  the  diagram 
immediately  below  the  table  represents  the  entire  length  of  the 
original  piece  produced  by  rolling  the  18"x20"  ingot  to  a  sec- 
tion of  16"x5".  The  numbers  on  this  diagram  correspond  to  the 
numbers  of  the  test-pieces  in  the  table,  and  mark  the  place  in  the 
ingot  from  which  the  corresponding  test-piece  was  derived. 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


There  are  evidences  of  segregation,  both  in  a  slightly  higher 
tensile  strength  and  in  higher  phosphorus  and  sulphur,  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  ingot  near  the  top,  but  the  differences  are  unimportant, 


TABLE  XIII-M. 

Distribution  of  Elements  in  7-inch  Square  Blooms  Rolled  from 
High-Carbon,  Open-Hearth  Ingots,  14  inches  square. 

A  slice  was  cut  crosswise  from  the  rolled  bloom  at  different  places  and  drillings 
taken  from  the  center  of  this  slice,  corresponding  to  the  center  of  the  ingot. 


Kind  of 
ingot. 

Place  from  which  slice  was  taken. 

Composition;  percent. 

Cby 
comb. 

P. 

Mn 

S. 

Si. 

Low- 
phosphorus 
ingot. 

Ladle  test 

.984 

.941 
.990 
.991 
.982 
1.012 

.013 

.015 

.019 
.017 
.020 
.016 

.09 

.11 
.11 
.11 
.11 
.11 

.022 

.012 
.010 
.012 
.010 
.010 

.12 

.09 
.10 
.09 
.11 
.11 

Top  of  ingot  after  cutting  off  20  per  cent. 

One-fourth  way  down  the  ingot  

One-half  way  down  the  ingot 

Three-quarters  way  down  the  ingot  .  .  . 
Bottom  of  ingot     .                .... 

Medium- 
phosphorus 
ingot. 

Ladle  test 

1.440 

1.205 
1.430 
1.443 
1.400 
1.459 

.050 

.064 
.059 
.051 
.058 
.055 

.28 

.28 

.27 
.27 
.27 

.27 

.016 

.015 
.015 
.013 
.014 
.012 

.12 

.18 
.12 
.12 
.13 
.12 

Top  of  ingot  after  cutting  off  20  per  cent, 
as  scrap        ..            ...            ..... 

One-fourth  way  down  the  ingot 

One-half  way  down  the  ingot  

Three-quarters  way  down  the  ingot  .  .  . 
Bottom  of  ingot                     

Low- 
phosphorus 
ingot. 

Ladle  test                                 

.913 

V  .925 
.965 
.948 
.956 
.948 

.024 

.021 

.022 
.021 
.025 
.021 

.13 

.13 
.14 
.18 
.18 
.18 

.019 

.018 
.018 
.020 
.021 
.021 

Top  of  ingot  after  cutting  off  20  per  cent. 

One-fourth  way  down  the  ingot  

One-half  way  down  the  ingot            ... 

Three-quarters  way  down  the  ingot  .  .  . 
Bottom  of  ingot  

TABLE  XIII-K 
Composition  of  the  Liquid  Interior  of  an  Ingot. 


Origin  of  sample. 

Carbon  by 
combustion 

P. 

S. 

Mn. 

Si. 

Metal  from  interior        .  . 

.480 

.095 

.047 

0.95 

und. 

Ladle  test  

.461 

.091 

.034 

1.13 

.12 

Composition;  percent., 


and,  as  the  carbon  in  the  steel  was  .24  per  cent.,  there  seems  to  be 
good  ground  for  the  assumption  that  nickel  prevents  the  separa- 
tion of  the  metalloids.  It  has  not  prevented  it  altogether,  how- 
ever, and  it  is  not  probable  that  any  other  agent  will  ever  be 
found  competent  for  this  task. 


254: 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


SEC.  XHIh. — Investigations  on  Swedish  steel. — The  experi- 
ments related  in  this  chapter  were,  for  the  most  part,  made  at 
Steelton;  manufacturers,  as  a  rule,  do  not  want  to  discuss  segre- 
gation at  all,  and  published  records  are  rare.  Eecently,  however, 
an  account  has  been  written  by  Wahlberg*  on  investigations  on 

TABLE  XIII-0. 
Homogeneity  of  Acid  Open-Hearth  Nickel  Steel. 

Size  of  ingot,  18"x20" ;  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company.  Composition  of 
preliminary  test,  per  cent.:  C,  .24;  Mn,  .78;  P,  .032;  S,  .027. 


Slab  mark. 

Shape  into  which 
slab  was  rolled. 

1 

3 

6 
ft 

Composition; 

per  cent. 

Ultimate 
strength  ; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
Ibs.  per 
square  inch. 

I 

§JL 

331 
s££ 
las 

H 

Reduction  of 
area:  per 
cent. 

Ni. 

P. 

Mn. 

8. 

A 

%-inch  universal 
mill  plate. 

1 
2 
8 
4 
5 
6 

8.22 
8.21 
8.81 
8.24 
8.22 
3.29 

.038 
.040 
.035 
.039 
.031 
.037 

0.78 
0.80 
0.78 
0.78 
0.77 
0.77  -I 

.036 
.046 
.034 
.036 
.028 
.026 

86480 
88500 
85140 
88700 
84080 
85400 

59000 
59500 
59240 
58100 
57320 
59410 

19.25 
20.50 
21.75 
19.75 
21.25 
19.75 

87.00 
86.00 
89.00 
34.50 
40.00 
88.00 

47.8 
89.1 
54.2 
38.6 
58.1 
51.5 

B 

%-inch  sheared 
plate. 

7 
8 
9 

8.27 
8.29 
8.27 

.035 
.039 
.087 

0.77 
0.77 
0.78 

.034 
.037 
.038 

84440 
86680 
86520 

58800 
59640 
59560 

19.50 
17.00 
20.50 

87.00 
81.50 
37.00 

48.8 
42.8 
52.6 

C 

J^-inch  universal 
mill  plate. 

10 
11 

8.22 
8.22 

.037 
.037 

0.77 
0.78 

.032 
.032 

86200 
85660 

58260 
56760 

21.00 
22.00 

40.00 
42.00 

54.1 
53.1 

D 

%-inch  sheared 
plate. 

12 
13 

8.21 
8.21 

.035 
.035 

0.77 
0.78 

.034 
.033 

85180 
84020 

56800 
57600 

19.00 
20.50 

84.50 
39.00 

50.2 
52.2 

E 

Angles. 

14 

8.25 

.038 

0.77 

.033 

86960 

58550 

21.75 

89.67 

50.5 

NOTE.— The  following  diagram  shows  the  parts  of  the  ingot  which  correspond  to 

the  places  in  the  plates  from  which  the  tests,  given  in  the  third 

column  of  above  table,  were  taken. 


Sw 

h-i                              »-> 

»-                               *•• 

M 

o 

" 

en        co        M 

0 

Sf 

5 

B 

«0                          00 

»        »•      » 

g-d 

D.P 

P1 

Slab  B. 

Slab  D. 

Slab  C. 

Slab  B. 

Slab  A. 

Swedish  steels.  He  gives  the  determinations  by  three  chemists  of 
the  carbon  and  phosphorus  in  different  steels,  and  Table  XIII-P 
shows  the  averages  from  his  tables.  Inspection  will  show  that 
B,  E,  G,  H,  J  and  L,  which  is  to  say  one-half  of  all  the  ingots, 
showed  no  segregation  of  either  carbon  or  phosphorus.  F,  I  and 
K  showed  segregation  in  the  center  of  the  top  of  both  carbon 
and  phosphorus,  but  none  elsewhere.  C  and  D  showed  segrega- 


*  Journal  L  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  II,  1901. 


SEGREGATION  AND  HOMOGENEITY. 


255 


TABLE  XIII-P. 
Segregation  in  Swedish  Ingots. 

Calculated  from  Wahlberg:  Journal  I.  and  S.  I..  Vol.  H,  1901.  Left-hand  figures  in  each 
rectangle  «=  "surface  at  top  and  bottom.  Right-hand  figures  =  centre  of  ingot  at  top  and 
bottom.  Each  figure  is  average  of  determinations  by  three  chemists.  Plain  figures  =  car 
bon  ;  parentheses  in  italics  =  phosphorus. 


Top. 

Top.                                                    Top. 

096 

.159 

.470 

.475 

.929 

1.032 

i 

(.025) 
A 

(.051)    gj             g 

«      -8 

(.024) 

E+3                                 Qj 
g               •£ 

(.035) 
I 

(.055)    jj 

S 

.095 

.128     0            3, 

.483 

.469     3            5 

.975 

.932     6 

(.031) 

(.056) 

(.025) 

(.023) 

(^43) 

(.035) 

Bottom. 

Bottom.                                           Bottom. 

Top. 

Top.                                                   Top. 

.128 

.129 

.508 

.590 

1.032 

.906 

* 

(.012) 

(.015)    g             g 

(-033) 

(.063)    g             « 

(.025) 

(.021)    g 

r. 

B 

•g         «S 

F                                1 

J 

fl 

B 

.106 

.115    3           | 

.495 

.486     3            ^ 

.982 

1.024    3 

(.013) 

(.013) 

(.034) 

(.035) 

(.025) 

(.027) 

Bottom. 

Bottom.                                          Bottom. 

Top. 

Top.                                                   Top. 

.125 

.207 

.591 

.594 

1.055 

1.202 

I 

(.020) 

c 

(.056)    j            g 

a    •    1 

(.026) 

(.031)    c            g 
G                              & 

(.025) 
K 

(.040)   jj 

z 

.117 

.140   6            3 

.549 

.543     3           ,5 

1.102 

1.099    3 

(.019) 

(.034) 

(.026) 

(.025) 

(.026) 

(.026) 

Bottom. 

Bottom.                                          Bottom. 

Top 

Top.                                                      Top. 

.220 

.270 

.612 

.675 

1.234 

1.262 

1 

(.022) 
D 

(.042)    l             » 

(.030) 

<•«»»  j         S 

H                                ^ 

(.025) 
L 

(.033)    g 

i 

.192 

.218  a     1 

.625 

.631     3            g 

1.240 

1.217     3 

(023) 

(.030) 

(.033) 

(.034) 

(.031) 

(.031) 

Bottom. 

Bottom.                                           Bottom. 

tion  in  the  top  and  a  slight  amount  in  the  center  of  the  bottom, 
while  A  showed  marked  segregation  in  the  top  and  a  consider- 
able amount  in  the  bottom  of  both  carbon  and  phosphorus.  It 
will  be  evident  that  by  cutting  off  the  top  of  the  ingot  the  re- 
mainder of  the  steel  will  be  practically  uniform,  for  the  central 
axis  constitutes  but  a  small  portion  of  the  finished  material. 


256  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

The  burden  of  this  chapter  is  to  the  effect  that  segregation  is. 
ever  present;  that  the  extent  of  the  concentration  bears  a  rela- 
tion to  the  proportion  of  impurities  present;  that  manganese,  cop- 
per and  nickel  do  not  segregate  to  any  extent,  but  that  certain 
portions  of  the  finished  material  will  contain  a  higher  percentage 
of  carbon,  phosphorus  and  sulphur  than  will  be  found  in  the  tests 
cut  from  the  edge  of  plates  and  bars,  or  than  will  be  shown  by  the 
preliminary  test.  It  is  also  indicated  that  a  degree  of  uniformity, 
sufficient  for  practical  needs,  may  be  expected  if  the  initial  metal 
is  low  in  phosphorus  and  sulphur. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 

SECTION  XlVa. — Effect  of  thickness  upon  the  physical  prop- 
erties.— One  of  the  fundamental  difficulties  in  writing  specifications 
is  to  decide  the  nature  of  the  test-piece  to  be  required,  inasmuch  as 
the  strength  and  ductility  will  vary  in  pieces  of  different  thickness, 
while  the  results  will  not  be  alike  in  tests  cut  from  different  struc- 
tural shapes,  like  plates,  angles  and  rounds,  even  though  they  be 
rolled  from  the  same  steel.  From  one  point  of  view  each  piece 
of  metal  throughout  a  bridge  should  be  of  exactly  the  same  strength 
per  unit  of  section  without  regard  to  its  thickness;  but  in  taking 
this  as  a  basis  a  serious  trouble  is  encountered.  Suppose,  for  in- 
stance, that  a  metal  is  required  running  between  56,000  and  64,000 
pounds  per  square  inch,  and  a  charge  is  made  which  in  three- 
eighth-inch  plate  gives  57,000  pounds.  If  this  steel  be  rolled  into 
seven-eighth-inch  angles,  or  into  one-inch  plate,  or  into  two-inch 
rounds,  it  is  quite  probable  that  these  will  run  below  the  allowable 
minimum.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  steel  gives  62,000  pounds 
in  a  preliminary  test,  the  larger  sections  will  give  proper  results, 
while  one-quarter-inch  plate  will  be  too  high  in  ultimate  strength. 

Where  a  structure  is  to  be  made  of  large  quantities  of  very  large 
or  very  small  sections,  it  is  well  to  specify  that  the  test  shall  be 
made  on  the  special  thicknesses  needed,  but  in  ordinary  cases  it 
seems  absurd  to  the  practical  mind  that  a  heat  of  steel  can  be 
perfectly  suitable  for  one  size  and  unsuitable  for  another.  It  was 
the  custom  in  the  past  for  inspectors  to  recognize  the  situation  and 
make  tests  from  the  usual  sizes,  with  a  full  knowledge  that  thicker 
and  thinner  members  would  give  different  results,  but  in  later  prac- 
tice there  is  a  growing  tendency  to  test  each  separate  thickness,  a 
change  which  has  been  the  cause  of  great  expense  to  the  manufac- 
turer. Provisions  to  cover  this  point  should  be  incorporated  into 
contracts  and  a  certain  definite  allowance  made  for  variations  in 
the  dimensions  of  the  finished  material.  On  the  other  hand  the 

267 


258  METALLURGY  OE  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

requirements  should  be  worded  so  that  manufacturers  would  be 
obliged  to  put  sufficient  work  on  large  members  to  render  them 
of  proper  structure. 

There  is  often  a  confusion  of  terms  in  considering  the  effect  of 
work  as  represented  by  a  large  percentage  of  reduction  from  the 
ingot,  and  the  effect  of  finishing  at  a  low  temperature.  This  is 
found  most  often  in  the  case  of  plates,  for  it  has  been  quite  a  gen- 
eral practice  to  roll  these  directly  from  the  ingot  in  one  heat.  In 
order  that  a  piece  shall  be  finished  hot  enough  under  this  practice, 
there  has  been  a  standing  temptation  to  use  a  thin  ingot;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  has  been  almost  universally  shown  that  the  best 
results  are  obtained  when  a  large  amount  of  work  is  put  upon  the 
piece  during  rolling. 

SEC.  XlVb. — Discussion  of  Riley's  investigations  on  the  effect 
of  work. — The  truth  of  this  last  statement  was  disputed  by  Kiley,* 
who  tabulated  the  results  of  testing  different  thicknesses  of  plate 
when  rolled  from  ingots  of  varying  section.  In  all  cases  the  ingot 
was  either  hammered  or  cogged  to  a  slab  and  this  was  reheated  be- 
fore finishing  into  a  plate.  His  analysis  of  the  records  consisted  in 
picking  out  individual  cases  and  showing  that  the  small  ingots  gave 
some  results  which  were  equal  to  those  from  the  large  ones,  but 
this  method  of  comparison  must  be  recognized  as  entirely  unworthy 
of  the  subject.  It  is  true  that  the  number  of  tests  is  very  small, 
and  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  the  accidental  variations  in  the 
double  working  should  produce  anomalous  results ;  but  even  taking 
these  very  data  and  making  comparisons  by  the  proper  system  of 
averages,  it  will  be  found  that  they  tell  a  story  exactly  opposite 
from  the  conclusions  formulated  by  Mr.  Eiley.  In  Tables  XIV-A 
and  XIV-B  such  figures  are  presented. 

In  the  comparison  of  the  different  thicknesses  in  Table  XIV-A 
the  thinner  plates  give  much  better  results,  the  one-half -inch  plate 
showing  an  increased  ductility  in  spite  of  its  greater  strength. 
The  one-quarter-inch  plates  are  somewhat  lower  in  elongation  and 
two  and  one-half  per  cent,  better  in  reduction  of  area  than  the 
one  inch  plates,  but  they  possess  7600  pounds  more  strength,  so 
that  less  ductility  should  be  expected.  This  statement  is  open  to 
criticism,  as  no  account  is  taken  of  the  effect  of  variation  in  the 

*  Some  Investigations   as   to   the  Effects   of  Different  Methods   of   Treatment 
of  Mild  Steel  in  the  Manufacture  of  Plates.     Journal  I.  and  8.  I.,  Vol.  I,  1887, 
121. 


INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 


259 


dimensions  of  the  test-piece,  but  Table  XIV-B,  which  is  free  from 
this  error,  proves  that  the  plates  made  from  the  large  sizes  have  a 
higher  tensile  strength  and  greater  ductility. 

TABLE  XIV-A. 

Average  Physical  Results  on  Different  Thicknesses  of  Steel  Plates 
Without  Regard  to  Size  of  Ingots ;  there  being  an  Equal  Num- 
ber of  Plates  of  each  Thickness  Rolled  from  Each  Sized  Ingot.* 


Thickness  of 
plate. 

Ultimate 
strength;  Ibs. 
per  square  in. 

Elongation  in 
8  inches; 
per  cent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  per 
cent. 

Annealed,  ulti- 
mate strength  ; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

One  inch    .  .  . 
One-half  inch  . 
One-quarter  in. 

62037 
64534 
69642 

24.40 
24.71 
22.35 

40.20 
44.85 
42.68 

59416 
61018 
62989 

TABLE  XIY-B. 

Average  Physical  Results  on  Plates  from  Different-Sized  Ingots 
Without  Regard  to  Thickness  of  Plate;  there  being  the  same 
Number  of  each  Thickness  Rolled  from  a  Given  Size.* 


Size  of 
ingot:  in 
inches. 

Thickness 
of  slab  in 
inches. 

Ultimate 
strength;  Ibs. 
per  square 
inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches; 
per  cent. 

Reduction 
of  area; 
per  cent. 

Annealed  ulti- 
mate strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

24x15 
14x14 
18x12 
18x12 
12x6 

8 
8 
8 
4 
4 

66155 
65-J96 
65128 
65520 
64923 

24.14 
23.91 
23.77 
23.68 
23.68 

45.79 
44.13 
41.88 
40.00 
41.58 

62197 
62571 
60461 
60461 
60013 

Thus  these  experiments  which  were  heralded  as  upsetting  current 
beliefs  are  found  to  vindicate  them;  they  do  prove  that  in  some 
cases  very  good  results  may  be  obtained  by  skillful  manipulation 
under  a  bad  system;  but  manufacturers  have  long  since  learned 
that  a  large  amount  of  reduction  is  essential  to  secure  reliable  re- 
sults in  regular  practice,  and  no  short  series  of  tests  can  upset  this 
well-established  fact. 

SEC.  XI Vc. — Amount  of  work  necessary. — Up  to  within  a  com- 
paratively recent  period  it  was  a  common  practice  in  America  to 
roll  plates  directly  from  the  ingot  in  one  heat.  This  was  unsatis- 
factory for  more  than  one  reason.  First,  the  rolling  of  thin  plates 
involved  either  the  making  of  small  ingots,  which  was  objection- 
able and  costly,  or  it  involved  rolling  them  from  a  large  ingot,  which 


*  From  data  in  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  I.,  1887,  p.  121,  et  seq. 


260  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

was  very  severe  on  the  machinery;  second,  when  the  ingot  was 
rolled  into  one  single  plate  the  segregated  interior  of  the  mass  con- 
stituted a  very  considerable  proportion  of  the  finished  piece,  and 
it  was  generally  out  of  the  question  to  cut  this  part  off,  as  by  so 
doing  a  piece  would  be  wasted  which  would  be  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  whole  and  which  generally  would  be  unsuited  for 
other  purposes  on  account  of  its  dimensions. 

Third,  it  is  not  possible  to  make  every  heat  of  steel  just  the 
exact  composition  and  physical  qualities  desired,  and  if  the  steel 
be  cast  in  ingots  of  a  size  suited  for  the  making  of  certain  plates, 
and  if,  on  account  of  such  variations  in  chemical  or  physical  qual- 
ity, they  are  not  suited  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  made, 
they  may  be  unsuited  for  any  other  purpose.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  large  ingots  are  cast  and  bloomed  in  a  large  mill  and  cut 
up  into  slabs,  it  is  possible  to  know  before  the  steel  is  rolled  just 
what  are  the  chemical  and  physical  qualities  of  the  metal,  and  the 
slabs  may  be  made  to  suit  the  orders  on  hand.  Moreover,  the  upper 
part  of  the  ingot  may  be  put  into  the  less  important  work,  while  the 
bottom  portion  may  be  used  for  fire  box  plates  and  for  other  pur- 
poses calling  for  the  best  material.  For  these  reasons  the  use  of  a 
slabbing  mill  has  come  into  quite  general  use. 

The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  was  the  first  works  in  this 
country  to  introduce  this  practice;  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company 
followed  with  a  much  larger  mill;  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany then  built  one  of  a  large  size  handling  an  ingot  36  inches 
hy  48  inches,  and  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  and  the  Lukens  Iron 
and  Steel  Company  have  lately  followed  the  example. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  just  what  should  be  the  size  of  the  slab  for  a 
given  plate.  Theoretically  it  would  seem  immaterial  whether  a  15- 
inch  ingot  is  cogged  to  8  inches  and  rolled  to  one-half  inch,  or 
whether  it  is  cogged  to  4  inches  and  rolled  to  the  same  thickness. 
The  experiments  of  Mr.  Eiley  point  the  same  way,  but  they  are  far 
from  being  comprehensive.  If  a  slab  4  inches  thick  is  not  heated  to 
a  full  heat  the  plate  may  be  finished  at  the  same  temperature  as  one 
of  the  same  gauge  rolled  from  a  hotter  slab  of  twice  the  thickness, 
but  in  regular  practice  the  thin  slabs  are  sometimes  heated  hotter 
than  the  thick  ones,  and  consequently  will  be  finished  at  a  higher 
temperature.  If  carried  too  far  this  produces  a  coarser  structure 
and  an  inferior  metal,  so  that  it  is  best  to  proportion  the  thickness 
of  the  slab  to  the  thickness  of  the  plate.  The  exact  relation  is  of 


INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 


261 


little  importance  as  long  as  the  reduction  is  sufficient,  for  in  this 
matter  the  old  adage  is  strictly  applicable :  "Enough  is  as  good  as  a 
feast."  This  will  be  shown  by  Tables  XIV-C  and  XIV-D,  which 
investigate  the  effect  of  work  on  billets  madje  from  ingots  16  inches 
square  and  which  thus  had  an  all-sufficient  reduction  to  begin  with. 

TABLE  XIV-C. 

Influence  of  Thickness  of  Test-Piece  on  the  Physical  Properties 
when  the  Percentage  of  Eeduction  in  Rolling  is  Constant  for 
all  Thicknesses ;  the  Finished  Bars  in  each  Case  having  a  Sec- 
tional Area  of  about  8  Per  Cent,  of  the  Billet. 


Ss 

°3 
l§ 

•7. 


Ultimate 

strength; 

Ibs.  per  sq. 

inch. 


1 


-5-0.0 
E 


Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 


•-3 
•Sgg 


£•0.0 


Elongation  in 

8  inches;  per 

cent. 


a 

lie 
Sss. 


E 


Reduction 
of  area; 
per  cent. 


Pi 

iaf 

3  " 

38, 


E 


4x4 


4606 


51WO 
51120 

50*50 


51280 


51970 
68200 


38440 
82650 
85700 


85410 
87860 
41400 


87.50 
82.50 
82.50 
81.25 


29.50 
88.75 

80.00 
81.50 
19.75 


60.1 
66.4 
60.8 
61.0 


60.9 
65.6 
68.9 
66.2 
68.4 


4x4 


9227 


H 


59540 
59780 


60160 


62350 
65130 


62700 
67470 


87050 
88100 
42110 
43070 
52180 


40490 
42090 


67830 


85.00 
29.75 
80.00 
27.50 
26.25 


81.00 
32.50 
80.50 
28.75 
23.75 


60.0 
66.4 
60.0 
60.7 
68.9 


67.4 
65.1 
65.9 
63.8 
67.5 


1509 


4x4 


67860 
67550 
67470 


68140 

6*040 


42850 
43190 
44090 


44050 
45560 
46610 


25.00 
26.25 
26.25 


24.25 

28.25 
23.25 


40.8 
46.1 
68.2 


43.9 
46.6 
605 


4x4 


1440 


72840 
71280 
72950 
73620 
78560 


73260 
73510 
73710 
75650 
79260 


47080 
46010 
48760 
51550 
58140 


50830 
50540 


25.00 
26.25 
26.25 
26.25 
22.75 


24.00 
25.00 
22.00 
26.75 


40.7 
40.5 


45.9 
52.0 


40.8 
43.5 
48.1 
52.1 
60.4 


It  will  be  found  from  a  detailed  comparison  of  these  tables  that 
there  is  little  difference  between  the  bars  of  the  same  thickness, 
even  though  rolled  from  different-sized  billets.  There  is  a  gain  in 
ultimate  strength  as  the  thickness  decreases,  this  being  most  marked 
in  the  cold-finished  bars,  but  the  differences  are  not  very  marked 
except  in  the  case  of  the  one-eighth-inch.  The  elastic  limit  follows 
the  same  law,  but  it  is  raised  more  than  the  ultimate  as  the  bar 
gets  thinner.  The  elongation  varies  irregularly,  but,  as  a  rule,  it 
remains  unaffected  except  in  the  one-eighth-inch,  where  it  is  low- 


262 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XIV-D. 

Influence  of  Thickness  of  Bar  upon  the  Physical  Properties  when 
all  Pieces  are  Kolled  from  Billets  Three  Inches  Square. 


5* 

Ultimate 

Elastic  limit; 

Elongation  In 

Reduction  of 

! 

strength  ;  Ibs.  per 
square  inch. 

pounds  per 
square  inch. 

8  inches; 
per  cent. 

area;  per 
cent. 

•3 

.S 

s 

i 

4& 

tt 

i 

!eat  numbe: 

1 

«M 
O 

1 

Lnished  at 
usual  tem- 
perature. 

Lnished  at 
dull  red  hei 

4,  A 

ill 

£01* 

"3  00   0> 

SPA 

inished  at 
dull  red  he 

inished  at 
usual  tem- 
perature. 

*3 

l! 

W-H 

:§s 

inished  at 
usual  tem- 
perature. 

inished  at 
dull  red  he 

H 

02 

En 

h 

E 

h 

h 

c 

h 

h 

2x5/ 

51370 

50960 

82860 

83760 

84.50 

82.75 

59.6 

56.7 

2X1/! 

51070 

62430 

83200 

86050 

81.50 

80.00 

69.2 

67.2 

4605 

2x41 

50850 

61970 

85700 

87860 

82.50 

80.00 

60.8 

68.9 

2x£k 

62960 

62280 

86220 

40040 

81.25 

82.50 

63.2 

68.8 

2x>| 

55560 

65000 

47380 

42500 

80.00 

29.00 

53.2 

60.4 

2x|X 

59690 

60190 

87000 

40130 

85.00 

80.00 

65.4 

58.7 

2x% 

60850 

60510 

88560 

40470 

29.50 

82.50 

68.8 

61.7 

9227 

2x% 

60950 

61390 

42110 

42090 

80.00 

80.50 

60.0 

65.9 

2x^ 

62230 

63970 

42600 

49200 

25.75 

29.25 

55.9 

61.9 

2x^| 

66340 

68130 

49860 

56180 

27.50 

24.00 

56.6 

65.7 

2x|K 

65600 

67090 

40980 

45830 

29.50 

25.50 

50.9 

44.8 

2x^4 

67310 

67660 

43090 

45170 

26.25 

25.50 

47.1 

46.2 

1609 

2x% 

67470 

68300 

44090 

46610 

26.25 

28.00 

53.2 

60.8 

2x>i 

69210 

70200 

47950 

63680 

26.50 

25.25 

64.1 

66.9 

2xi| 

72100 

77460 

54060 

64430 

27.75 

15.25 

55.0 

48.2 

2x% 

72440 

74060 

46440 

49480 

27.50 

24.00 

45.7 

42.0 

2x% 

72570 

68150 

46200 

45990 

27.25 

28.50 

47.3 

53.4 

1440 

2x% 

72950 

73710 

48760 

50540 

26.25 

22.00 

62.1 

48.1 

2x>| 

75620 

71260 

61160 

54660 

25.00 

27.25 

63.5 

49.4 

2xi| 

77500 

80240 

60920 

69360 

26.00 

18.50 

46.8 

68.6 

TABLE  XIV-E. 
Effect  of  Hammering  Kolled  Acid  Open-Hearth  Steel. 

NOTE.— Chemical  composition  in  per  cent. ;  C,  .40 ;  Mn,  .86 ;  P,  .037 ;  S,  .046, 


o     g 

2 

•-£ 

a  a 

.. 

0||| 

J 

II 

23 

1 

1 

1 

C 

if! 

Is 

«ft 

l||l 

i 

I 

i 

Remarks. 

0 

«M    *    W    ° 

Us 

III 

fijgg 

"o  o 

^j 

S 

iili 

ill 

sal 

|5«i 

•§0 

1! 

S 

8 

H 

& 

H 

P3 

H 

A 
B 
C 

6 
6 
6 

64460 
41500 

60800 

89240 

88660 
89070 

29.00 
28.00 
26.50 

41.2 
42.2 
88.0 

61.0 
46.8 
57.0 

Finished  at  dull  yellow. 
Annealed  at  bright  yellow. 
Finished  at  dull  yellow. 

i 

4 
8 

55240 
51170 

87300 
86450 

25.50 
27.50 

87.0 
89.3 

63.3 
59.2 

Finished  at  dull  yellow. 
Finished  at  dull  yellow. 

F 

2 

61830 

89280 

28.00 

41.8 

58.1 

Finished  at  dull  yellow. 

g 

2 
4 

67140 
45620 

92400 
89900 

28.00 
27.00 

42.0 
88.9 

61.8 
50.8 

Finished  at  cherry  red. 
Finished  at  dull  yellow. 

I 

3 

47830 

88800 

25.00 

84.8 

53.9 

Finished  at  dull  yellow. 

K 

2 

51000 

88760 

27.50 

42.7 

57.5 

Finished  at  dull  yellow 

L 

5 

64020 

86400 

7.50 

5.8 

62.5 

Annealed  at  white  heat. 

M 

2 

R4700 

93360 

24.50 

84.8 

58.6 

Finished  at  cherry  red. 

INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL.  263 

ered  to  some  extent.  The  reduction  of  area  is  also  irregular,  but  it 
seems  to  be  independent  of  the  thickness  even  in  the  thinnest  plate. 
The  conclusion  seems  justifiable  that  if  the  billets  have  already 
received  sufficient  work,  the  good  condition  caused  thereby  is  not 
destroyed  by  reheating,  since  bars  rolled  from  them  reach  their 
standard  level  of  quality  with  only  a  reasonable  degree  of  reduction, 
as  proven  by  the  fact  that  further  work  gives  no  decided  improve- 
ment. But  it  is  also  certain,  as  shown  by  all  experience,  that  no 
harm  can  be  done  by  increased  work,  and  that  there  is  a  slight  gain 
in  the  long  run  provided  the  finishing  temperature  remains  con- 
stant. 

SEC.  XlVd. — Experiments  on  forgings. — The  persistency  of  a 
proper  structure  even  through  subsequent  heating  may  be  seen  in 
Table  XIV-E,  which  gives  the  results  obtained  from  a  series  of 
forged  billets.  The  original  bloom  was  6  inches  square,  being  rolled 
from  an  ingot  18"x20".  From  this  bloom  several  short  pieces  were 
cut  and  treated  in  different  ways : 

A  was  not  reheated,  but  a  test-piece  was  cut  from  it  as  a  standard 
of  comparison. 

B  was  heated  to  a  full  working  heat  and  cooled  without  hammer- 
ing. 

C  was  hammered  to  5  inches  square  in  one  heat. 

D  was  hammered  to  4  inches  square  in  one  heat. 

E  was  hammered  to  3  inches  square  in  one  heat. 

F  was  hammered  to  2  inches  square  in  one  heat. 

G  was  hammered  to  2  inches  square  in  one  heat  from  the  an- 
nealed bar  B  and  was  finished  at  a  cherry  red  heat. 

H  was  hammered  to  5  inches  square,  then  reheated  and  ham- 
mered to  4  inches. 

/  was  hammered  to  4  inches  square,  then  reheated  and  ham- 
mered to  3  inches. 

K  was  hammered  to  3  inches  square,  then  reheated  and  ham- 
mered to  2  inches. 

L  was  hammered  to  5  inches  square,  then  overheated  and  cooled 
without  hammering. 

M  was  made  by  reheating  the  burned  piece  L  and  hammering  to 
2  inches  square  in  one  heat,  being  finished  at  a  cherry  red  heat. 

All  the  pieces  were  worked  under  a  4-ton  double-acting  hammer, 
and  the  test-bars  were  cut  from  the  corner  of  the  billet  and  pulled 
in  a  length  of  2  inches. 


264 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


It  is  quite  evident  that  the  pieces  which  were  heated  twice,  and 
which  received  only  one  inch  of  reduction  after  the  second  heating, 
must  have  been  finished  hotter,  as  well  as  have  received  less  work 
after  a  full  heat,  but  in  spite  of  these  differences  in  amount  of 
work  and  temperature  it  is  clear  that  the  bars  are  practically  uni- 
form in  strength  and  ductility,  showing  that  the  steel  was  in  thor- 
oughly good  condition  originally,  and  that  proper  heating  did  no 
harm  when  followed  by  a  fair  amount  of  work. 

The  ultimate  strength  is  fairly  uniform  save  in  the  case  of  the 
two  bars  which  were  finished  at  a  cherry  red  heat.  The  elastic  ratio 
varies  in  much  greater  measure,  but  the  results  are  not  regular 
since,  in  some  cases,  as  in  K,  a  high  ratio  accompanies  heavy  reduc- 
tion under  the  hammer,  while  in  others,  as  in  Dt  it  appears  in  bars 
which  have  received  very  little  work. 

TABLE  XIV-F. 

Comparative  Physical  Properties  of  Test-Pieces  of  Bessemer  Steel 
Cut  from  Thick  and  Thin  Angles  of  Large  and  Small  Sizes. 

Each  figure  is  an  average  of  50  bars. 


Thickness  of 
angle; 
inches. 

Elastic  limit: 
Ibs.  per  sq.  in. 

Ult.  strength; 
Ibs.  per  sq.  in. 

Elastic  ratio; 
per  cent. 

Elongation  in 
8  in.  ;  percent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  per  cent. 

Large 

sizes. 

Small 

sizes. 

Large 

sizes. 

Small 

sizes. 

Large 

sizes. 

Small 
sizes. 

Large 
sizes. 

Small 

sizes. 

Large 
sizes. 

Small 

sizes. 

| 

43002' 
48687 
41671 
41080 
40891 
88867 

44158 
48090 
43128 
41634 
41836 
40944 

60097' 
60019 
60120 
59467 
59360 
58267 

61252 
60629 
60289 
59151 
59750 
59084 

'71-55* 
72.70 
69.31 
69.08 
68.04 
66.70 

72.09 
71.07 
71.59 
70.88 
70.02 
69.30 

'28.13' 
28.16 
28.58 
28.65 
29.03 
28.37 

27.55 
28.55 
28.52 
29.24 
28.74 
29.38 

'58.23' 
67.59 
55.17 
55.30 
68.43 
51.63 

66.79 
54.80 
57.58 
56.98 
57.59 
56.07 

The  original  bar  A  shows  a  high  ratio,  but  this  was  finished  at  a 
low  heat.  In  the  annealed  bar  B  the  ratio  drops  very  much,  but 
the  "burned"  bloom  L  shows  almost  as  high  an  elastic  strength  as 
the  original  steel.  In  the  bar  M,  which  should  be  compared  with 
the  bar  Gf  it  is  shown  that  reheating  and  hammering  will  do  very 
much  toward  restoring  a  piece  of  burned  steel  to  its  original  con- 
dition, although  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  ever  can  make  of  it  a 
thoroughly  reliable  material. 

SEC.  XlVe. — Tests  on  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  angles  of 
different  thicknesses. — The  fact  that  there  is  very  little  difference 
between  thick  and  thin  pieces,  provided  the  work  has  been  sufficient 
in  both  cases,  is  shown  by  Table  XIV-F.  This  was  constructed  by 


INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 


265 


taking  at  random  from  the  records  of  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany the  tests  on  fifty  bars  of  small  angles  and  fifty  bars  of  large 
angles  of  each  different  thickness,  of  common  Bessemer  steel,  run- 
ning from  .07  to  .10  per  cent,  of  phosphorus. 

For  making  the  6"x6"  angles,  a  bloom  8"x9y2"  was  rolled  from 
a  16"x20"  ingot,  but  all  other  sizes  were  made  from  a  7%-inch 
square  bloom  which  was  cogged  from  a  16"xl6"  ingot.  The  term 
"small"  angles  includes  4%"x3",  4r"x4",  and  all  smaller  sizes  down 
to  and  including  3"x3";  while  the  "large"  embraces  from  5"x3" 
to  6"x6",  inclusive.  The  finished  area  of  the  smaller  bars  is  such  a 
small  part  of  the  original  bloom  that  the  reduction  may  be  consid- 
ered uniform  for  them  all,  thus  giving  a  fairly  valid  basis  of  com- 
parison for  the  different  thicknesses,  while  the  columns  "large" 
and  "small"  should  show  the  effect  of  a  varying  amount  of  work  on 
a  piece  of  given  thickness. 

TABLE  XIV-G. 

Comparison  of  Ultimate  Strength  of  Bars  Boiled  from  Test  Ingots 
Six  Inches  Square,  and  Test-Pieces  Cut  from  Angles  of  Dif- 
ferent Thicknesses  Rolled  from  the  same  Heats. 


Elastic  limit;  Ibs. 

Ultimate  strength; 

Elastic  ratio; 

3  . 

per  square  inch. 

Ibs.  per  square  inch. 

per  cent. 

Thickness  of 

B 

s 

d 

1 

5 

1 

angle;  in  inches. 

da 

4 

^3 

s 

s  . 

•£* 

g 

s  . 

•*^ 

H 

a  . 

If 

fii 

i_  ~ 

esi! 

if 

si 

•gas 

s!2 

002  Oj 

I| 

S5 

2^ 

s§ 

IB* 

*^c 

0««g 

h 

sa 

IS 

h  d 

& 

n 

M 

n 

PQ 

n 

W 

A  and  % 

39 

42270 

41300 

970 

60200 

60190 

10 

70.23 

68.62 

46 

43070 

40170 

2900 

61360 

60660 

700 

70.19 

66.22 

A  and  % 

37 

42990 

39710 

8280 

62930 

61520 

1410 

68^1 

64.55 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  small-sized  angles  give  slightly  better 
results  on  elongation,  but  the  difference  is  trifling,  while  in  neither 
the  elastic  ratio  nor  the  reduction  of  area  is  there  any  marked 
superiority.  The  results  indicate  that  when  the  amount  of  work 
is  large,  the  exact  percentage  is  of  little  consequence. 

The  ultimate  strength  decreases  in  the  thicker  angles,  but  it  is 
not  proven  that  the  variation  is  due  entirely  to  the  thickness,  for  it 
may  be  that  the  heats  which  were  rolled  into  thick  sizes  did  happen 
to  be  of  lower  strength,  but  as  all  the  heats  were  made  in  the  same 
way,  and  as  both  large  and  small  sizes  follow  the  same  law,  and  as 


266 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


each  group  includes  fifty  bars,  it  seems  probable  that  the  gradation 
represents  in  some  measure  the  effect  of  different  amounts  of  work 
on  the  material. 

TABLE  XIY-H. 

Comparative  Physical  Properties  of  Various  Steels,  Made  by  The 
Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  when  Boiled  into  Angles  of  Dif- 
ferent Thicknesses. 


* 

A   . 

,    •£*  01 

« 

s3 

o£ 

£ 

«a 

i- 

&.. 

• 

Ss 

3 

'+3    &l 

i    bC"H 

^j  g 

c?  ^ 

n* 

& 

® 

p«cL 

»-H    £«       *    £} 

'o'o 

43  o> 

c3« 

33  Sd- 

03    »H 

Q*M 

•5  ® 

fl 

•a 

.M^ 

3    **    Hi^ 

s  .S 

O  03 

iSj 

3^ 

«n, 

"w00^ 

2  **> 

i 

s 

6 

•d 
g 

l!-- 

alg 

3  ftO 

Ijj{ 

o>  .« 

a  ® 

If 

umber 
in  aver 

IB 

II 

ft 

1 

verage 
tion  of 
per  cen 

m 

M 

M 

3 

63 

to 

< 

< 

•jl 

H 

•f   to  3 

32 

86284 

52533 

69.07 

82.18 

63.7 

Basic  open- 

below 

T7g    tO    i 

20 

84891 

53171 

65.62 

82.33 

62.8 

hearth. 

.04 

1%   to  1 

14 

84026 

51908 

65^6 

82.87 

63.4 

H  tof 

7 

32356 

51923 

62.31 

33.86 

63.0 

6   to  3 

64 

39692 

58865 

67.43 

80.52 

58.8 

Basic  open- 

below 

A    tO    i 

39 

87827 

58538 

64.62 

80.06 

56.8 

hearth. 

.04 

»  to  4 

17 

87487 

59235 

63.28 

29.28 

52.6 

ti  to  | 

10 

86035 

59125 

60.95 

30.58 

55.3 

6      to 

212 

40891 

60845 

67.21 

29.35 

57.4 

in 

Acid  open- 
hearth. 

.05  to  .07 

56000 
to 
64000 

A  to 
i9*  to 
J4  to 

126 
81 
121 

89415 
38645 
87478 

60695 
60558 
59906 

64.94 
63.81 
62.56 

29.23 
28.95 
29.32 

55.6 
53.8 
51.3 

ti  to 

3 

87793 

61943 

61.01 

28.58 

48.7 

TS  to 

50 

41143 

60064 

68.50 

28.82 

58.4 

IV 

Acid  open- 
hearth. 

.07  to  .10 

56000 
to 
64000 

A  to 
8  to 
to 

50 
50 
50 

40170 
39656 
38338 

60583 
61049 
59763 

66.30 
64.96 
64.15 

29.05 
28.98 
29.60 

56.3 
54.8 
55.8 

to 

50 

37969 

61129 

62.11 

28.85 

50.8 

150 

43417 

60659 

71.58 

28.07 

56.6 

V 

Acid 
Bessemer. 

.07  to  .10 

to 

200 
200 

42518 
41063 

59882 
59415 

71.00 
69.11 

28.63 

28.95 

56.8 
55.6 

200 

38867 

58267 

66.70 

28.37 

51.6 

VI 

Acid  open- 
hearth. 

.05  to  .07 

64000  to 
72000 

T5S   tO  i 

A  to| 

40 
29 

43713 
42191 

65656 
65631 

66.58 
64.28 

27.90 

27.83 

55.0 
53.7 

VII 

Acid  open- 
hearth. 

.07  to  .10 

64000  to 
72000 

A  to  f 

25 
39 

44486 

42817 

66365 
65777 

67.03 
65.09 

27.19 
27.49 

55.4 
53.2 

VIII 

Acid 
Bessemer. 

.07  to  .10 

64000  to 
72000 

<*  ,to  I 

A  to  ^ 

53 
23 

46422 
45280 

66277 
65940 

70.04 
68.66 

26.42 

27.30 

50.4 
51.5 

SEC.  XlVf. — Comparison  of  the  strength  of  angles  with  that  of 
the  preliminary  test-piece. — That  the  thin  angles  will  give  a  higher 
strength  is  proven  quite  conclusively  by  Table  XIV-G-,  which  gives 
in  parallel  columns  the  tests  on  the  finished  angles  from  acid  open- 
hearth  heats,  and  the  results  obtained  from  bars  rolled  from  6-inch 
square  ingots  of  the  same  charges.  It  matters  not  whether  this 
preliminary  test  really  represents  the  true  value  of  the  steel,  for  it 


INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL.  267 

may  reasonably  be  assumed  that  it  will  give  a  regular  basis  of  com- 
parison, so  that  the  differences  between  the  results  on  this  standard 
and  on  the  various  thicknesses  will  be  the  measure  of  the  effect  of 
rolling. 

It  is  shown  that  for  an  increase  of  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness there  is  a  diminution  in  strength  of  700  pounds  per  square 
inch.  It  is,  perhaps,  as  close  an  agreement  as  could  be  expected 
when  we  find  that  in  Table  XIY-F  the  difference  on  the  large  sizes 
between  the  three-eighth-inch  and  three-quarter-inch  angles  was 
1830  pounds  per  square  inch,  or  610  pounds  to  every  one-eighth  in 
thickness,  while  on  the  smaller  sizes  it  is  2168  pounds  from  five- 
sixteenth-inch  to  five-eighth-inch,  or  434  pounds  to  every  eighth, 
being  an  average  of  522  pounds  for  both  large  and  small  sizes. 

SEC.  XIYg. — Physical  properties  of  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com' 
pany  steels  of  various  compositions,  when  rolled  into  angles  of 
different  thicknesses. — The  subject  is  more  fully  investigated  in 
Table  XIY-H,  which  gives  the  average  results  from  angle  bars  of 
several  different  kinds  of  steel.  The  accidental  variations  in  the 
metals  make  it  impossible  to  compare  the  influence  of  the  thickness 
upon  the  ultimate  strength,  but  the  column  showing  the  elastic  ratio 
proves  that  a  lower  elastic  limit  follows  an  increase  in  thickness. 
The  elongation  remains  the  same  for  all  thicknesses.  The  reduc- 
tion of  area  varies  somewhat,  but  in  the  groups  where  a  large  num- 
ber of  tests  make  the  figures  of  much  value  there  is  a  decrease  in 
the  heavier  bars. 

The  variation  in  strength  of  the  different  thicknesses  is  due  in 
part  to  the  fact  that  the  thin  pieces  are  finished  at  a  lower. tempera- 
ture. The  effect  of  such  working  is  investigated  in  Tables  XIY-C 
and  XIY-D,  where  pieces  of  the  same  billets  were  heated  differently 
before  rolling  and  were,  therefore,  finished  under  unlike  conditions. 
In  the  bars  finished  at  the  lower  temperature  the  elastic  limit  was 
raised  very  considerably,  but  the  ultimate  strength  and  the  ductility 
did  not  vary  much  from  the  hot-rolled  bars.  This  conclusion  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  fact  so  well  known  to  all  manufacturers 
that  if  a  bar  or  plate  is  finished  so  cool  that  it  looks  dark  in  the 
sunlight  it  will  give  a  much  higher  tensile  strength;  the  bars  re- 
ferred to  in  the  table  were  all  finished  somewhat  hotter  than  this, 
and  the  small  variation  in  temperature  seems  to  have  little  effect. 
These  conclusions  will  be  corroborated  by  Table  XIY-I,  which 
records  certain  tests  on  acid  open-hearth  steel. 


268 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


SEC.  XlVh. — Comparative  physical  properties  of  hand  and  guide 
rounds. — The  fact  that  the  elongation  is  as  high  on  thick  as  on  thin, 
angles  is  contrary  to  a  prevailing  opinion  concerning  the  effect  of 
surface  work  upon  rolled  steel.  Further  information  is  given  in 


TABLE  XIV-I. 

Effect  of  Finishing  2x%-inch  Flats  of  Acid  Open-Hearth  Steel  at 
Different  Temperatures. 

(A=  finished  at  usual  temperature.    B  =  finished  at  a  low  red  heat.) 


Ult.strength; 
per  sq.  in. 

Heat  No. 

Composition; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate 
strength  ; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elonga- 
tion in  8 
inches; 
per  cent. 

Reduction, 
of  area; 
per  cent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

B. 

s| 

10068 
10058 
10056 

.11 

.12 
.12 

.037 
.087 
.080 

.49 
.55 
.65 

57520 
57810 
59060 

59160 
61270 
59140 

89150 
39250 
40800 

41490 
44860 
42760 

80.50 
82.75 

28.00 

83.25 
81.75 
30.50 

68.0 
64.8 
57.9 

60.9 
58.6 
59.3 

Av. 

.12 

.085 

.56 

58180 

59857 

89783 

43087 

80.42 

81.88 

61.9 

59.6 

sj 

10065 
10064 
10071 
10066 

.11 
.11 
.18 

.12 

.056 
.062 
.065 
.074 

.48 
.48 
.48 
.50 

60840 
60900 
62230 
62840 

63160 
63500 
63820 
63860 

41540 
41500 
42290 
42610 

44230 
45890 
46730 
44000 

29.25 
80.25 
32.00 
29.25 

29.00 
80.50 
80.00 
30.75 

61.8 
60.6 
58.9 
61.6 

56.5 
56.3 
60.2 
57.3 

Av. 

.12 

.064 

.48 

61703 

63585 

41985 

45213 

30.19 

80.06 

60.7 

57.6 

SS 

10041 
10045 
10048 
10061 
10084 
10047 
10068 
10042 

.28 
.23 
.21 
.25 
.25 
.25 
.26 
.26 

.047 
.052 
.049 
.062 
.059 
.046 
.062 
.042 

.77 
.86 
.75 
.68 
.78 
.80 
.79 
.76 

72780 
73060 
78840 
75300 
76860 
77340 
78280 
78640 

74500 
75910 
75840 
77280 
79430 
80260 
80880 
80560 

47010 
48660 
48580 
49400 
49840 
49460 
50860 
49930 

49090 
54240 
49900 
51600 
54920 
54800 
57220 
54900 

25.50 
25.75 
24.00 
25.50 
22.50 
23.75 
26.00 
24.25 

28.75 
28.00 
28.25 
28.50 
27.60 
26.75 
27.50 
24.00 

59.5 
57.8 
65.3 
50.7 
54.4 
52.3 
48.6 
53.8 

57.1 
51.0 
64.6 
54.8 
51.fr 
52.4 
47.4 
<0.3 

Av. 

.24 

.052 

.77 

75688 

78083 

49155 

53334  1  24.66 

27.41 

54.1 

62.3 

TABLE  XIV-J. 

Comparative  Physical  Properties  of  Hand  Eounds  and  Guide 
Rounds  from  the  Same  Acid  Open-Hearth  Heats. 


• 

9 

,    . 

il| 

s 

3d 

fen 

re  manga 
per  cen 

Ultimate 
strength  ;  Ibs. 
per  sq.  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
Ibs.  per  square 
inch. 

Elonga- 
tion in  8 
inches  ; 
per  cent. 

Reduction 
of  area; 
per  cent. 

d 

ill* 

|& 

S  r* 

gs 

•d 

9 

"§ 

9 

« 
a 

| 

i 

s 

8 

W  bC  PH 

PJJjj 

^  CH 

m 

Ej 

eg 

S 

3 

o3 

5 

H 

fc 

<1 

W 

0 

W 

5 

W 

o 

W 

0 

i 

56000  to  64000 

3 

.41 

59830 

59192 

42548 

38848 

28.23 

29.35 

55.90 

61.85 

ii 

70000  to  75000 

5 

.76 

72464 

69750 

48024 

45601 

22.77 

24.73 

40.77 

48.98 

in 

75000  to  80000 

5 

.81 

78805 

77790 

51943 

51933 

23.55 

24.92 

46.09 

53.30 

IV 

80000  to  86000 

6 

.79 

88813 

82524 

52986 

52863 

22.74 

24.51 

45.69 

55.57 

Av.  of  all  heats, 

19 

.78 

75722 

74232 

49758 

48495 

23.83 

25.44 

46.11 

54.28 

INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 


269 


Table  XIV-J,  which  shows  the  comparative  results  on  hand  and 
guide  rounds  from  the  same  heats. 

A  guide  round  is  made  in  one  pass  from  an  ellipse,  while  a  hand 
round  is  put  through  the  same  pass  several  times,  being  turned  one- 
quarter  way  each  time  in  order  to  obtain  a  true  circular  section. 
This  has  the  effect  of  finishing  the  bar  somewhat  cooler  than  a  guide 

TABLE  XIV-K. 

Changes  in  the  Physical  Properties  of  Steel  by  Variations  in  the 
Details  of  Plate-Rolling;  Classified  According  to  Strength  of 
Preliminary  Test. 


•o 

oT 

||| 

d 

2 

S 

— 

|j|s 

Ultimate  strength; 
Ibs.  per  sq.  in. 

£•8 

1 

d 

is 

0 

*«i 

a 
"3. 

5 

iff! 

OP 

ij. 

II 

^ 

^^ 

Si 

^«5- 

z*: 

«* 

knesa  of 
hes. 

iberof  he 

-sS^s 
ifli- 

gg|Sx3 

"ft 

! 

b 

h 

s* 

11 

tic  limit 
.  per  squi 

0 

1* 

S8 

gation  oi 
iches;  pe 

iction  of 
te;  perc 

s-oS 

Is 

.M*"* 

H 

3 

|SII§ 

a 

Is 

|iSS* 

as 

N 

l& 

C  w 

3= 

•a  -5 

12 

more  than  7500 

60040 

49479 

10661 

44659 

74.4 

25.94 

52.9 

4 

8 

18 

less    than  7500 

56475 

51177 

5298 

42570 

75.4 

26.31 

52.3 

1 

og 

13 

more  than  5500 

57807 

60020 

7787 

40407 

69.9 

26.94 

57.4 

• 

5 

19 

less    than  5500 

54799 

51033 

8766 

89675 

72.4 

28.78 

61.1 

•£ 

94 

more  than  4000 

59582 

54096 

5486 

44653 

74.9 

26.44 

59.6 

rt 

68 

less    than  4000 

58823 

56741 

2582 

43028 

73.8 

27.10 

55.3 

I 

69 

more  than  3000 

58705 

54013 

4692 

40420 

68.9 

28.50 

66.9 

I 

8 

60 

less    than  3000 

57021 

65328 

1693 

40266 

70.6 

28.37 

67.8 

O 

8g 

10 

more  than  3000 

59414 

63557 

5857 

88222 

64.3 

28.09 

69.9 

S 

IB 

16 

less    than  3000 

66501 

64786 

1715 

36525 

64.6 

30.58 

58-5 

m 

7 

more  than  3000 

59135 

58984 

5201 

38078 

64.4 

27.90 

67.9 

10 

less    than  8000 

56977 

55840 

1137 

36770 

64.5 

27.13 

62.5 

. 

8 

more  than  2000 

62228 

59506 

2722 

42687 

68.6 

25.69 

61.0 

$! 

4 

less    than  2000 

61425 

60550 

875 

42325 

68.9 

25.41 

61.0 

H 

*"8 

11 

more  than  1000 

61827 

59706 

2121 

42027 

68.0 

25.12 

68.2 

§1 

/« 

9 

less    than  1000 

59022 

69320 

89875 

67.6 

24.46 

55.5 

0  i 

«25 

19 

more  than  1000 

61174 

59573 

1601 

40157 

65.7 

24.19 

60.2 

* 

' 

14 

less    than  1000 

60293 

60408 

89693 

65.8 

24.69 

48.7 

round,  and  thus  naturally  gives  a  higher  ultimate  strength,  while  it 
also  works  the  skin  of  the  piece  during  the  finishing  process  with- 
out any  great  reduction  in  diameter.  It  will  be  seen  that  nothing 
is  gained  by  this  operation,  for,  although  the  guide  rounds  are 
slightly  reduced  in  strength,  they  are  considerably  better  in  elonga- 
tion and  reduction  of  area. 

SEC.  XIYi. — Changes  in  the  physical  properties  of  steel  ly  vari- 


270 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


ations  in  the  details  of  plate-rolling. — It  has  been  already  stated 
that  it  is  the  practice  at  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Works  to  roll  a 
preliminary  test-bar  from  each  open-hearth  heat  for  physical  test- 
ing, and  that  the  ultimate  strength  of  this  bar  corresponds  closely 
with  that  of  angles  rolled  from  the  same  charge.  In  the  case  of 
plates,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  often  a  considerable  variation,  and 
Table  XIV-K  investigates  the  effect  of  such  differences  upon  the 
physical  qualities. 

TABLE  XIV-L. 

Changes  in  the  Physical  Properties  of  Steel  by  Variations  in  the 
Details  of  Plate-Eolling ;  Classified  According  to  Strength  of 
Finished  Plate. 


li 

| 

i 
I 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  square 

i 

•  -d 

oT 

00 

g 

ii. 

® 

s 

pi5 

inch. 

*2 

03 

i  '<&  o 

"3 

to 

•90*^. 

1 

£•! 

ft 

ft® 

gj 

Cd 

Ma3 

P< 

rt 

22  S    • 

J 

& 

•rH 

o% 

O 

wj 

c8o> 

"3 

ffi 

A 

*O 

jjjjjfc 

| 
ft 

Ss* 

•w  t* 

ap; 

.2 
08-^ 

2* 
B; 

O  M 

gl 

*O  (P  ^ 

ft  no 

aj4^  o  to 

IJj 

p3 

2aS 

S  aa 

*fl 

"!* 

"00  o> 

,5<flft 

0  ® 

I! 

2 

a 

!fi 

OQ 

1 

Is 

I  a|| 

>£  G'PI 

=  g 
ll 

2% 

H 

08  ® 

bc^a 
ri  o 

0  0 

It 

& 

H 

fc 

£ 

H 

H 

H 

P3 

85 

more  than  4000 

56971 

51963 

5008 

43106 

75.6 

26.66 

57.8 

^4 

n 

80 

less     than  4000 

56652 

64680 

1972 

41345 

73.0 

27.35 

55.2 

S 

42 

more  than  8000 

56370 

52161 

4209 

40387 

71.6 

28.28 

58.5 

no 

50000 

i 

49 

less     than  8000 

55958 

54441 

1517 

89759 

71.0 

28.66 

58.2 

tn 

h 

58000 

7 

more  than  1700 

55963 

53391 

2572 

87613 

67.2 

80.27 

58.6 

• 
0) 

& 

6 

less     than  1700 

63981 

53213 

768 

84802 

64.5 

31.43 

69.6 

I 

8 

more  than  1100 

56633 

54076 

2557 

36366 

64.2 

27.91 

54.7 

® 

i 

4 

less     than  1100 

55292 

54843 

449 

36150 

65.4 

28.50 

63.7 

89 

more  than  4000 

60130 

54234 

5896 

44572 

74.1 

26.63 

58.7 

3 

58000 
to 

ra 

88 

less     than.  4000 

59344 

56401 

2943 

44054 

74.2 

26.92 

56.2 

« 

64000 

15 

more  than  8000 

59750 

53676 

6074 

40928 

68.5 

27.87 

57.6 

15 

less     than  8000 

68920 

56969 

1951 

40855 

69.3 

28.07 

58.7 

. 

6 

more  than  2550 

62841 

59151 

8690 

43933 

69.9 

25.92 

50.5 

'  <j> 

6 

less     than  2550 

61080 

60557 

523 

41200 

67.4 

25.04 

62.0 

®^ 

56000 

9 

more  than  1400 

61833 

59647 

2186 

42512 

68.7 

25.28 

54.9 

s| 

64000 

n 

11 

less     than  1400 

59527 

59439 

88 

40230 

67.6 

24.45 

63.8 

3£ 

17 

more  than  1700 

61241 

59442 

1799 

40110 

65.5 

24.38 

50.7 

* 

16 

less     than  1700 

60331 

60442 

39800 

66.0 

24.43 

48.6 

It  is  assumed  that  the  preliminary  test-piece  is  the  standard,  and 
whatever  difference  from  this  is  shown  in  the  plate  is  due  to  the 
conditions  of  rolling.  On  this  basis  it  is  possible  to  compare  those 
plates  which  show  a  great  with  those  which  show  a  less  variation 


INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL. 


271 


from  the  standard,  and  note  the  corresponding  ductility.  In  the 
first  division,  for  example,  it  was  found  that  the  average  increase 
in  strength  from  the  preliminary  bar  to  the  finished  plate  was 
7500  pounds  per  square  inch.  Consequently  this  figure  was  taken 
as  a  dividing  line,  and  a  comparison  was  made  of  the  heats  showing 
more  than  this  difference  with  those  showing  less.  The  same  rule 
was  followed  in  all  the  other  divisions. 

Table  XIV-L  gives  a  different  view  of  the  same  data,  the  groups 
being  divided  on  the  less  logical  but  more  practical  basis  of  the 

TABLE  XIV-M. 

Comparative  Physical  Properties  of  Angles  and  Sheared  Plates, 
both  being  made  from  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  Steel. 


. 

a 

.. 

tf»- 

- 

* 

"ft 

3 

§>|! 

•"*  flj'S 

Sac 

o 

3« 

o  «" 

S£ 

i^ii 

.=  §F 

*S2 

0*3  2 

£  a 

5  ft 

ill 

H 

1 

M 

6  = 

ill 

|» 

II 

H 

s000 

'-  oS 

Angles 

32 

52533 

36284 

69.07 

32.18 

63.7 

Basic  open-hearth  soft  steel, 
below  .04  per  cent,  in  phos- 
phorus. 

A   tO  | 

Plates 

107 

54998 

38017 

69.12 

29.28 

68.6 

Angles 

20 

53171 

34891 

65.62 

32.38 

62.3 

"   °  * 

Plates 

102 

55017 

84947 

63.52 

29.03 

615 

Basic  open-hearth  medium 
steel,  below  .04  per  cent,  in 
phosphorus. 

A  to  i 

Angles 
Plates 

64 

265 

58865 
58271 

89692 
40349 

67.43 

69.24 

8052 

28.27 

58.8 
68.1 

Ato| 

Angles 
Plates 

212 
190 

60845 
60217 

40891 
43278 

67.21 
71.87 

29^5 
25.98 

67.4 
67.4 

Acid  open-hearth  soft  steel, 
below  .08  per  cent,  in  phos- 
phorus. 

A   tO  i 

Angles 
Plates 

126 
59 

60695 
60768 

39415 
39061 

64.94 
64  38 

29^3 
25^7 

65.6 
65.1 

A  to  f 

ssesr 

81 
13 

60558 
60666 

38645 
37932 

63.81 
62.53 

28.95 
24.67 

53.8 
52.7 

strength  of  the  finished  plate.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  elongation 
for  a  given  tensile  strength  is  not  seriously  affected  by  the  variations 
in  rolling,  but  that  the  hotter  finished  plates  are  somewhat  better. 
The  elastic  ratio  exhibits  much  less  variation  than  would  be  ex- 
pected, and  this  might  throw  some  doubt  on  the  results,  but  all  the 
different  groups  teach  the  same  lesson,  and  in  some  of  them  the 
number  of  heats  is  so  large  as  to  give  great  weight  to  the  conclu- 
sion. The  plates  were  all  rolled  from  slabs,  which  in  turn  had 
been  rolled  from  large  ingots,  so  that  there  was  ample  work  on  all 
thicknesses. 

SEC.    XIVj. — Comparative  physical   properties   of   plates   and 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

angles. — It  is  very  difficult  to  make  a  comparison  of  two  different 
structural  shapes,  since  it  does  not  often  happen  that  the  same 
heat  is  rolled  into  more  than  one  kind  of  section,  but  an  attempt 
is  made  to  do  this  in  Table  XIV-M.  The  prime  requisite  is  that 
the  steel  in  both  cases  shall  be  of  the  same  manufacture,  and  this 
specification  is  satisfied  in  the  present  instance.  The  figures  for 
the  angles  are  found  by  combining  certain  groups  in  Table  XIV-H, 
which  was  compiled  from  the  records  of  The  Pennsylvania  Steel 
Company,  while  the  plates  represent  the  average  obtained  from 
The  Paxton  Boiling  Mill,  which  was  running  on  slabs  from  the 
same  works. 

The  one  predominant  feature  is  the  lower  elongation  in  the 
plates.  This  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  metal  receives 
a  less  thorough  compression  in  the  plate  train  than  it  does  in  the 
rolling  of  angles,  in  which  latter  case  it  undergoes  a  certain  amount 
of  lateral  thrust. 

SEC.  XlVk. — Effect  of  thickness  on  the  physical  properties,  of 
plates. — The  effects  caused  by  variations  in  rolling  temperature 
appear  in  their  most  marked  degree  in  the  comparison  of  plates  of 
different  gauges.  It  is  not  customary  to  test  the  same  heat  in 
several  sizes,  but  by  long  experience  the  manufacturer  is  able  to 
judge  the  relative  properties  of  each  thickness.  The  heads  of  two 
widely-known  plate  mills  have  given  me  as  their  estimate  that, 
taking  one-half  inch  as  a  basis,  there  will  be  the  following  changes 
in  the  physical  properties  for  every  increase  of  one-quarter  inch 
in  thickness : 

(1)  A  decrease  in  ultimate  strength  of  1000  pounds  per  square 
inch. 

(2)  A  decrease  in  elongation  of  one  per  cent,  when  measured  in 
an  8-inch  parallel  section. 

(3)  A  decrease  in  reduction  of  area  of  two  per  cent. 

W.  E.  Webster*  gives  the  same  data  on  ultimate  strength,  but 
does  not  mention  the  relation  of  section  to  elongation. 

It  is,  therefore,  plain  that  in  the  writing  of  specifications  some 
allowance  must  be  made  for  these  conditions,  since  a  requirement 
which  is  perfectly  proper  for  a  three-eighth-inch  plate  will  be  un- 
reasonable for  a  l^-inch.  Moreover,  the  effect  is  cumulative, 
since  a  harder  steel  must  be  used  in  making  the  thick  plate  and 

*  Observations  on  the  Relations  between  the  Chemical  Constitution  and  Ulti- 
mate Strength  of  Steel.  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  I,  1894,  p.  329. 


INFLUENCE  OF  HOT  WORKING  ON  STEEL.  273 

this  will  tend  to  lessen  the  ductility  rather  than  make  up  for  the 
reduction  caused  by  the  larger  section.  In  plates  below  three- 
eighths  inch  in  thickness  it  is  also  necessary  to  make  allowances, 
since  it  is  almost  impossible  to  finish  them  at  a  high  temperature, 
and  the  test  will  give  a  high  ultimate  strength  and  a  low  ductility. 

These  conditions  have  now  been  officially  recognized  by  the 
United  States  Government,  for  the  rules  of  the  Board  of  Supervis- 
ing Inspectors,  issued  January,  1899,  contain  the  following  clause : 

"The  sample  must  show,  when  tested,  an  elongation  of  at  least 
25  per  cent,  in  a  length  of  two  inches  for  thicknesses  up  to  one- 
quarter  inch,  inclusive;  and  in  a  length  of  four  inches,  for  over 
one-quarter  to  seven-sixteenths,  inclusive;  and  in  a  length  of  six 
inches,  for  all  thicknesses  over  seven-sixteenths  inch  and  under 
1%  inches/' 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  constructive  engineers  will  follow  this 
example  in  recognizing  the  influence  of  causes  over  which  the 
manufacturer  has  no  control. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HEAT   TREATMENT. 

Within  the  last  few  years  there  have  been  radical  advances  in 
our  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  steel  and  the  influence  exerted  by 
what  has  come  to  be  known  as  "heat  treatment."  The  main  prin- 
ciples of  this  branch  of  metallurgy  have  been  understood  for  quite 
a  long  time,  but  they  were  applied  only  in  exceptional  cases,  such 
as  the  manufacture  of  guns  and  armor  plate.  To-day  progressive 
manufacturers  are  using  the  results  of  research  in  improving  the 
quality  of  their  ordinary  f orgings  and  castings,  and  it  is  therefore 
necessary  to  consider  at  some  length  the  general  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  the  science  of  micro-metallography.  This  has  been  done 
in  the  latter  half  of  this  chapter,  the  article  being  written  by  my 
brother,  J.  W.  Campbell. 

The  introduction  of  accurate  determinations  of  temperatures 
and  a  better  knowledge  of  the  proper  heat  to  use,  h#s  to  a  certain 
extent  diminished  the  value  of  the  experiments  and  investigations 
published  in  the  first  edition  of  this  book,  but  I  believe  they  may  be 
worth  recording  again,  as  it  is  quite  certain  that  many  non-pro- 
gressive works  will  follow  the  common  and  ancient  methods  of  an- 
nealing both  at  the  forge  of  the  smith  and  on  a  larger  scale  in  the 
treatment  of  eye  bars  and  similar  material.  In  the  following  sec- 
tions the  word  "annealing"  is  used  unless  otherwise  stated  to  signify 
that  the  piece  was  heated  in  a  muffle  heated  by  a  soft  coal  fire,  the 
bar  being  withdrawn  when  it  had  reached  a  dull  yellow  heat.  The 
experiments  were  carefully  performed  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
practice  was  fairly  uniform. 

SECTION  XVa. — Effect  of  annealing  on  the  physical  properties 
of  rolled  bars. — It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  annealing  tends  to 
remove  the  strains  which  are  created  by  cold  rolling  and  distortion, 
but  it  is  not  generally  understood  how  profound  are  the  changes 

274 


HEAT    TREATMENT. 


2?0 


produced.     Table  XV-A  will  show  the  results  obtained  on  rounds 
and  flats  by  comparing  the  natural  bar  with  the  annealed  specimen 

TABLE  XV-A. 

Effect  of  Annealing  on  Rounds  and  Flats  of  Bessemer  and  Acid 
Open-Hearth  Steel. 

A  4"x4"  billet  from  each  heat  was  rolled  into  a  2"x%"  flat  and  another  into  a  5i 

round. 


Limits  of  ultimate 
strength;  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

Kind  of  steel. 

Number  of  heats  in 
average. 

Condition  of  bar. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per  square 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per  square 
Inch. 

Elongation  in  8 
inches;  percent. 

Reduction  of  area; 
per  cent. 

Elastic  ratio;  per 
cent. 

56000 
to 

Bess. 

11 

Natural 
Annealed 

5«*jy 
55703 

42318 
87828 

27.75 

29.14 

58.83 
66.55 

71.88 
67.91 

60000 

O.H. 

4 

Natural 
Annealed 

58568 
54098 

40300 
81823 

29.69 

28.75 

60.78 
62.65 

68.81 

58.82 

60000 
to 

Bess. 

6 

Natural 
Annealed 

62087 
59372 

45323 
40570 

27.04 
30.13 

55.31 
66.50 

73.00 
68.33 

4 

G 

64000 

O.H. 

7 

Natural 
Annealed 

62187 
58364 

42606 
35120 

28.04 
28.61 

62.16 
63.47 

68.51 
60.17 

A 

64000  to 
68000 

Bess. 

0 

Natural 
Annealed 

66241 
61694 

47568 
42228 

26.08 
28.25 

50.07 
62.91 

71.81 
68.45 

e 
& 

68000 
to 

Bess. 

3 

Natural 
Annealed 

70457 
65903 

50263 
44660 

24.75 
26.08 

48.30 
63.23 

71.34 
67.76 

72000 

O.H. 

2 

Natural 
Annealed 

70530 
65500 

49000 
87685 

26.88 
23.38 

61.10 
66.30 

69.47 
57.53 

72000 
to 

Bess. 

4 

Natural 
Annealed 

77440 
71548 

53760 
47643 

24.06 
25.81 

42.35 
57.53 

69.42 
66.59 

80000 

O.H. 

12 

Natural 
Annealed 

76616 
69402 

51108 
40505 

24.52 
23.04 

53.73 
56.54 

66.71 

58.36 

56000 
to 

Bess. 

11 

Natural 
Annealed 

5S458 
54194 

41698 
35603 

81.45 
30.05 

56.18 
63.13 

71.33 
65.70 

60000 

O.H. 

4 

Natural 
Annealed 

58130 
51418 

40400 
30393 

80.13 
31.06 

61.75 
60.50 

69.51 
59.11 

60000 
to 

Bess. 

6 

Natural 
Annealed 

0089 

56192 

43135 
87542 

80.42 
30.63 

66.20 
63.38 

70.92 
66.81 

*3 

64000 

O.H. 

7 

Natural 
Annealed 

62089 
55021 

42441 
81576 

30.14 
30.36 

60.86 
60.00 

68.36 
57.39 

1 

64000  to 
68000 

Bess. 

9 

Natural 
Annealed 

64621 

58838 

45194 
88476 

28.42 
28.36 

47.80 
59.01 

69.94 
65.39 

I 

68000 
to 

Bess. 

3 

Natural  . 
Annealed 

69773 

04160 

49060 
43770 

2C.67 
28.63 

48.40 
59.50 

70.81 
68.22 

72000 

O.H. 

2 

Natural 
Annealed 

69420 
60850 

45090 
34000 

25.63 
26.50 

59.30 
52.10 

64.96 
55.87 

72000 
to 

Bess. 

4 

Natural 
Annealed 

76900 
68780 

52240 
43568 

23.44 
26.38 

40.15 
51.00 

67.98 

63.34 

80000 

O.H. 

12 

Natural 
Annealed 

75865 
67618 

49691 
39403 

24.69 
26.31 

54.40 
51.06 

65.50 

58.27 

276 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


when  all  the  pieces  were  rolled  from  billets  of  the  same  size  and 
on  the  same  mill. 

The  decrease  in  ultimate  strength  by  annealing  the  Bessemer 
bars  averaged  4175  pounds  per  square  inch  in  the  rounds  and  5683 
pounds  in  the  flats,  while  the  open-hearth  was  lowered  5134  pounds 
in  the  rounds  and  7649  in  the  flats.  In  this  important  and  funda- 
mental quality  the  two  kinds  of  steel  are  very  similarly  affected, 
but  in  other  particulars  there  seems  to  be  a  radical  difference  which 
is  difficult  to  explain. 

TABLE  XV-B. 

Comparison  of  the  Natural  and  Annealed  Bessemer  Steel  Bars 
Given  in  Table  XV- A,  which  show  about  the  same  Ultimate 
Strength. 


1 

"2 

s 

fl 

a> 

£j  o$ 

ti 

§ 

5 

Cos 

5  «-  a* 

5 

,; 

i| 

P/o 

CO 

| 

1 

S  Mto 

a 

1 

.•£ 

ti 

^•IH    <D 

O3 
"3 

£ 

•I 

Is 

oJ 

0 

| 

ffg 

OP 

0 

3  0 

3  g 

B 

ft 

£ 

HIS 

VH 

o 
d 

1 

in 

I 

IS 
H 

Is, 

1 

0 

to 

0 

p 

H 

H 

P5 

H 

I' 

56000  to 

11 

Natural 

58869 

42318 

27.75 

58.83 

71.88 

60000 

17 

Annealed 

56998 

38796 

29.49 

66.18 

68.06 

60000  to 

6 

Natural 

62087 

45323 

27.04 

55.31 

78.00 

64000 

9 

Annealed 

61694 

42228 

28.25 

62.91 

68.45 

64000  to 

9 

Natural 

66241 

47568 

26.08 

50.07 

71.81 

68000 

3 

Annealed 

65903 

44660 

26.08 

68.23 

67.76 

TV 

68000  to 

3 

Natural 

70457 

50263 

24.75 

48.30 

71.34 

72000 

4 

Annealed 

71548 

47643 

25.81 

57.53 

66.59 

56000  to 

11 

Natural 

58458 

41698 

81.45 

56.13 

71.33 

60000 

15 

Annealed 

57780 

38102 

29.27 

60.76 

65.95 

VI 

64000  to 
68000 

9 
3 

Natural 
Annealed 

64621 
64160 

45194 
43770 

28.42 
28.58 

47.80 
59.50 

69.94 
68.22 

VTT 

68000  to 

3 

Natural 

69773 

49060 

26.67 

48.40 

70.31 

72000 

4 

Annealed 

68780 

4a568 

26.38 

51.00 

63.34 

The  elongation  of  the  Bessemer  steel  is  increased  by  annealing  in 
every  case  except  two,  the  average  being  1.33  per  cent.,  while  the 
open-hearth  metal  shows  a  loss  in  three  cases,  with  an  average  loss 
for  all  cases  of  0.21  per  cent.  This  is  not  very  conclusive,  but  there 
is  a  more  marked  difference  in  the  reduction  of  area,  for  in  the 
Bessemer  steel  there  is  an  increase  in  the  annealed  bar  in  every 
case  varying  from  7  to  15.18  per  cent.,  while  the  open-hearth 


HEAT    TREATMENT. 


277 


showed  an  increase  in  only  three  cases,  the  maximum  being  2.81  per 
-cent.,  and  a  decrease  in  five  cases,  the  greatest  loss  being  7.20  per 
•cent. 

The  elastic  limit  fell  much  more  than  the  ultimate  strength,  and 
here  again  the  Bessemer  seems  to  be  different  from  the  open-hearth 
.steel,  for  while  the  elastic  ratio  of  the  former  is  lowered  from  2.1 
to  4.7  per  cent,  by  annealing,  the  latter  loses  from  7.2  to  11.9  per 
<;ent.  It  will  not  do  to  draw  a  general  conclusion  from  these  lim- 
ited data  on  the  nature  of  the  two  kinds  of  steel,  but  whether 

TABLE  XV-C. 

Comparison  of  the  Natural  and  Annealed  Open-Hearth  Steel  Bars 
Given  in  Table  XV-A,  which  show  about  the  same  Ultimate 
Strength. 


s*i 

a 

If 

1 

.. 

ill 

1 

1 

"1 

I| 

00  g 

| 

• 

~.S® 

M 

li 

£o> 

TJ  9 

S-l 

O 

S 

Is? 

**? 

t.  U 

g 

•s 
§5 

§a 

s  a 

il 

la 

1 

P. 

1 

ill 

28 
11 

1 

e8^   . 
5|« 

H^S 

H 

SJ 

a  o 
o  a 

IS 

c  P« 

_o  . 

11 

0 

fe 

O 

p 

K 

@ 

W 

If 

I 

56000  to 
60000 

4 

7 

Natural 
Annealed 

58568 
58364 

40300 
85120 

29.69 
28.61 

60.78 
68.47 

68^1 
60.17 

T  s 

68000  to 

2 

Natural 

70530 

49000 

26.88 

61.10 

69.47 

•»\h 

72000 

12 

Annealed 

69402 

40505 

23.04 

56^4 

68^6 

55000  to 

4 

Natural 

58130 

40400 

80.13 

61.75 

69^1 

,£3 

60000 

7 

Annealed 

55021 

31576 

80^6 

60.00 

57^9 

.a  w 

TV 

60000  to 

7 

Natural 

62089 

42441 

80.14 

60.86 

68^6 

^C 

64000 

2 

Annealed 

60850 

84000 

26.50 

52.10 

65.87 

04 

v      I      66000  to 

2 

Natural 

69420 

45090 

25.63 

59^0 

64.96 

I         70000 

12 

Annealed 

67618 

89403 

26^1 

51.36 

58.27 

further  experiment  would  or  would  not  corroborate  these  results, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  annealing  under  ordinary  conditions,  even 
though  very  carefully  conducted,  may  produce  grave  differences  in 
physical  properties  in  steels  of  similar  composition  which  have 
been  rolled  in  the  same  manner  and  treated  at  the  same  time,  even 
ivhen  the  effect  upon  the  ultimate  strength  has  been  the  same. 

It  would  also  appear  that  in  the  Bessemer  steel  the  marked 
increase  in  ductility  is  purchased  at  a  great  sacrifice  of  strength, 
and  the  question  arises  whether  the  gain  is  not  more  than  balanced 
l)y  the  loss,  and  whether  an  equal  degree  of  toughness  could  not  be 


278 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


secured  by  using  a  softer  steel  in  its  unannealed  state.  A  com- 
parison of  the  natural  and  annealed  bars  of  corresponding  tensile 
strength  in  Table  XV-A  will  give  the  results  shown  in  Tables 
XV-BandXV-C. 

SEC.  XVb. — Effect  of  annealing  on  bars  rolled  at  different  tem- 
peratures.— These  results  show  that  the  annealed  bar  has  a  very 
much  lower  elastic  limit  than  a  natural  bar  of  the  same  ultimate 
strength,  and  oftentimes  has  less  ductility.  The  difference  between 
the  Bessemer  and  open-hearth  steels  cannot  be  due  to  irregular 

TABLE  XV-D. 

Effect  of  Annealing  Acid  Open-Hearth  Boiled  Steel  Bars  2x% 

inches. 


•111 

2 

11 

3 

C 

| 

fc 

fl 

^0=3'" 

43   0 

J 

g£ 

sr 

3 

& 

1 

s  , 

111 

ll- 

<M 

O 

d 

o 

!! 

*i  fn 

is, 

F^     CO 

'I1- 

<M 

O 

flj 
2« 

O 

5 

p. 

lifts 

IP 

2 

i 

jig 

SL 

III 

C3  c? 

ss 

•§» 

.2j 

sS 

p 

0  tD 

.5  no  P<O  O 

a>  ^<fl 

§ 

in  P<S 

^E.a 

o  d 

qj  QI 

^0 

0 

fc 

H 

O 

P 

H 

H 

PH 

H 

56000  to  60000 

Usual 

Nat. 
Ann. 

58130 
52323 

89733 
81677 

80.42 
80.75 

61.90 
60.63 

68.4 
60.5 

I 

3 

C    12'  P    035' 

Mn,  .'56. 

Dull  red 

Nat. 
Ann. 

59857 
51557 

43087 
83893 

81.83 
32.92 

59.60 
63.60 

71.9 
65.7 

60000  to  64000 

Usual 

Nat. 
Ann. 

61703 
54463 

41985 
80953 

80.19 
30.38 

60.70 
59.35 

68.0 
56.8 

JJ 

4 

C    12*  P    086' 

'  Mn,  .48.     ' 

Dull  red 

Nat. 
Ann. 

63585 
55058 

45213 
36988 

80.06 
80.94 

57.58 
61.53 

71.1 
67.2 

72000  to  80000 

Usual 

Nat. 
Ann. 

75688 
66584 

49155 
87934 

24.66 
26.06 

54.05 
50.74 

64.9 
57.0 

III 

8 

C    24*  P    052* 

Mn,  .77.     ' 

Dull  red 

Nat. 
Ann. 

78083 
67058 

53334 
40343 

27.41 
26.50 

52.23 
53.41 

68.8 
60.2 

finishing,  since  all  the  bars  were  rolled  at  the  same  time,  and 
further  experiments  given  in  Table  XV-D  indicate  that  the  same 
law  holds  good  whether  the  metal  is  finished  hot  or  cold. 

In  the  bars  which  are  finished  at  the  usual  temperature  there  is 
a  loss  in  strength  due  to  annealing  of  from  6000  to  9000  pounds 
per  square  inch,  and  a  lowering  in  the  elastic  limit  of  from  8000 
to  11,000  pounds.  In  the  colder  finished  bars  the  loss  in  strength 
is  from  8000  to  11,000  pounds,  and  the  elastic  limit  is  lowered 
from  8000  to  13,000  pounds.  Thus  in  both  cases  the  elastic 
limit  is  affected  much  more  than  the  ultimate  strength,  and  the 


HEAT    TREATMENT. 


279 


result  is  seen  in  a  lower  elastic  ratio.     The  ductility  does  not  seem 
to  be  materially  improved  in  any  instance. 

The  cold  finishing  raised  the  strength  of  the  bars  1727  pounds 
per  square  inch  in  Group  I,  1882  pounds  in  Group  II,  and  2395 
pounds  in  Group  III.  Annealing  lowered  the  strength  of  these 
cold-finished  bars  so  that  in  Group  I  it  was  766  pounds  per  square 
inch  below  the  annealed  hot-finished  bar,  while  in  Group  II  it  was 

TABLE  XV-E. 

Effect  of  Annealing  on  Bars  of  Different  Thickness,  when  the  Per- 
centage of  Eeduction  in  Rolling  had  been  Constant  for  all 
Pieces. 


Heat  number. 

Size  of  billet  in 
inches. 

Size  of  bar  in  inches. 

Ultimate 
strength;  Ibs. 
per  sq.  inch. 

Elastic 
limit;  Ibs. 
per  sq.  inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches  ; 
per  cent. 

Reduction 
of  area; 
per  cent. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

1 

4605 

4x4 

3^x3% 
0X0 

1 

51640 
51120 
50850 
53320 

45870 
45100 
46350 
46010 
44960 

33440 
82650 
35700 
37360 

25680 

1-f3" 

•V,'N) 

28570 

87.50 
82.50 
82.50 
81.25 

87.50 
88.00 
39.50 
84.00 
31.25 

60.1 
56.4 
60.8 
61.0 

64.8 
64.0 
67.0 
64.8 
67.2 

9227 

4x4 

2)4x2* 

TSSi 

1 

59540 

wrao 

60950 
62350 
65130 

53360 
51360 
52460 
51230 
54110 

37050 
88100 
42110 
43070 
52180 

29030 
28410 
29860 
K80 
.  81170 

85.00 
29.75 
80.00 
27.50 
26.25 

32.50 
32.75 
81.75 
80.00 
28.25 

60.0 
66.4 
60.0 
60.7 
68.9 

59.7 
60.1 
56.6 
62.4 
64.9 

1509 

54X45 

Hi 

67860 
67550 
67470 

63560 
62680 
62660 

42850 
43190 
44090 

38750 
88810 
40430 

25.00 
26.25 
26.25 

26.50 
29.00 
29.25 

40.8 
46.1 
63.2  . 

57.8 
58.4 
66.1 

1440 

4x4 

1 

72840 
71380 
72960 

73620 
78560 

68940 
67060 
67860 
69720 
74000 

47080 
46010 
48760 
51550 
58140 

43580 

ooao 

43920 
OHO 

63200 

25.00 
26.25 
26.25 
26.25 
22.75 

27.00 
29.00 
26.25 
26.50 
25.25 

40.7 
40.5 
52.1 
45.9 
52.0 

63.6 
63.4 
65.4 
54.1 
53.6 

595  pounds  above  it,  and  in  Group  III  474  pounds.  The  effect 
upon  the  elastic  limit  is  not  as  thorough,  and  the  influence  of  the 
cold  finishing  may  be  seen  in  the  higher  elastic  ratio  of  the  an- 
nealed cold-finished  bar. 

SEC.  XVc. — Effect  of  annealing  on  bars  rolled  under  different? 
conditions  of  work  and  temperature. — All  these  results  will  be  cor- 
roborated by  Tables  XY-E  and  XV-F,  which  show  the  effect  of 
annealing  on  bars  which  have  been  finished  under  different  con- 
ditions. In  Table  XV-E,  where  each  bar  was  made  from  a  billet 


280 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


of  proportionate  size,  the  pieces  would  be  in  the  rolls  about  the 
same  length  of  time,  so  that  the  only  difference  in  character  will 
be  due  to  the  more  rapid  loss  in  heat  from  a  thin  bar  and  from 
the  more  thorough  compression.  In  Table  XV-F,  where  all  bars 
were  rolled  from  the  same-sized  billet,  these  factors  are  supple- 
mented by  the  extra  cooling  during  the  longer  exposure  in  the  rolls. 

TABLE  XV-F. 

Effect  of  Annealing  on  Bars  of  Different  Thickness,  when  All 
Pieces  had  been  Boiled  from  Billets  3  inches  Square. 


Heat  Number. 

Size  of  Bar  in 
inches. 

Ult.  strength  ; 
Ibs.  per  sq.  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
Ibs.  per  sq.  inch. 

Elongation  in 
Sin.  ;  percent. 

Reduction  of 
area;  per  ct. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

Natural. 

Annealed. 

4605 

2x% 
8xJi 

2x% 
2xtf 
2x^ 

51870 
51070 
50850 
52960 
55560 

45490 
43280 
46350 
44470 
45830 

32860 
83200 
85700 
86220 
47380 

25560 
24110 
25980 

'27780' 

84.50 
81.50 
82.50 
81.25 
30.00 

86.75 

88.00 
89.50 
88.50 
33.25 

59.6 
59.2 
60.8 
63.2 
53.2 

65.6 
64.2 
67.0 
69.6 
69.0 

9227 

2x% 
2x% 
2x% 
2x(| 
2xi| 

59690 
60350 
60950 
62230 
66340 

52880 
52270 
52460 
53500 
54310 

87000 
88560 
42110 
42600 
49860 

29030 
28460 
29860 
81000 
30600 

85.00 
29.50 
80.00 
25.75 
27.50 

82.00 
32.00 
31.75 
80.75 
26.25 

55.4 
58.8 
60.0 
55.9 
56.6 

56.4 
55.1 
56.6 

58.4 
61.6 

1509 

2x^ 
2x>£ 
2xg 
8xl| 

2xi| 

65600 
67310 
67470 
69210 
72100 

61480 
64500 
62660 
65240 
66940 

40980 
43090 
44090 
47950 
54060 

37840 
41400 
40430 
44510 
49000 

29.50 
26.25 
26.25 
26.50 
27.75 

29.00 
29.25 
29.25 
30.50 
27.50 

50.9 
47.1 
53.2 
54.1 
65.0 

57.1 
56.0 
56.1 
52.6 
52.6 

1440 

2xfg 
2x# 
2x% 
2x$2 

2x£l 

72440 
72570 

72950 
75620 
77500 

69730 
67980 
67860 
71560 
70820 

46440 
46200 
48760 
51160 
60920 

45250 
42000 
43920 

48250 
56420 

27.50 
27.25 
26.25 
25.00 
26.00 

24.25 

28.25 
26.25 
26.50 
25.50 

45.7 
47.3 
52.1 
,  53.5 

46.8 

56.8 
54.2 
55.4 
59.0 
59.9 

SEC.  XVd. — Effect  of  annealing  on  plates  of  the  same  charge 
which  showed  different  physical  properties. — This  matter  of  finish- 
ing temperature  is  of  supreme  importance  in  filling  specifications 
on  structural  material,  more  especially  in  the  rolling  of  thin  plates, 
for  it  will  often  happen  that  different  members  of  one  heat  will 
show  wide  variations  in  tensile  strength  when  the  metal  itself  is 
practically  homogeneous.  Table  XV-G  will  illustrate  this  point 
by  giving  the  records  of  test-pieces  which  gave  the  greatest  vari- 
ations in  any  one  heat,  and  comparing  the  natural  bar  with  a  piece 
of  the  same  strip  when  annealed. 


HEAT    TREATMENT. 


281 


It  will  be  seen  that  annealing  has  almost  wiped  away  the  vari- 
ations in  each  heat,  and  it  is  therefore  quite  certain  that  the  dif- 
ferences lie  in  the  rolling  history.  The  true  way  of  testing  the 

TABLE  XV-G. 

Showing  that  Rolled  Plates  of  the  same  Acid  Open-Hearth  Heat, 
which  show  Wide  Variations  in  their  Physical  Properties,  are 
made  alike  by  Annealing. 

BOTH.— In  each  case,  A  is  the  test  giving  the  highest  tensile  strength  of  any  plate 

in  the  heat,  and  B  is  the  one  giving  the  lowest.    Carbon  was 

determined  by  color  and  is  therefore  not  reliable. 


Heat  number. 

Thickness  of  plates. 

Condition  of  test 
bar. 

Test  mark. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per  square 
Inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per  square 
inch. 

Elongation  in  8 
inches  ;  per  cent. 

Reduction  of  area; 
per  cent. 

Elastic  ratio;  per 
cent. 

Chemical  composi- 
tion ;  per  cent. 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

8. 

6683 

i 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

61000 

56480 
47750 
46970 

53200 
46300 
29980 
30690 

21.50 
25.25 
34.50 
85.00 

61.9 
60.0 
67.0 
64.5 

87.2 
82.0 
62.8 
65.3 

.16 
.12 

.015 
.015 

52 
51 

.022 
.019 

6658 

i 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

65870 
60380 
52160 
50260 

52560 
48800 
32450 
33340 

21.75 
21.50 
32.00 
32.50 

68.7 
61.1 
57.0 
62.6 

80.4 
80.8 
62.2 
665 

.14 
.10 

.009 
.012 

.45 
.45 

.025 
.020 

8217 

* 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

64620 
59960 
52820 
50000 

53140 
48490 
35450 
31840 

25.00 
21.60 
27.00 
31.60 

68.1 
45.5 
62.2 
56.4 

82.2 
80.9 
67.1 
63.7 

.16 
.14 

.021 
.016 

.44 
.44 

.031 

.026 

8226 

* 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 

A 
B 

64260 
57040 
54070 
53960 

64370 
39990 
88520 
88520 

21.00 
28.75 
27.50 
29.50 

50.6 
66.6 
64.4 
63.3 

84.6 
70.1 
71.2 
71.4 

.12 
.12 

.086 
.084 

54 
52 

.058 
.047 

8281 

T°* 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

64480 
61100 
53830 
52180 

60560 
45030 
84870 
83780 

26.00 
26.00 
31.25 
34.25 

68.8 
48.0 
61.9 
63.2 

78.4 
73.7 
64.8 
64.7 

.18 
.11 

.021 
.018 

.55 
.51 

.048 
.044 

8233 

i 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

66360 
58160 
52760 
51480 

69100 
47630 
86940 
.40480 

20.75 
24.50 
83.00 

28.75 

62.7 
605 
65.0 
66.0 

89.1 
81.9 
70.0 
78.6 

.11 
.11 

.026 
.020 

57 
59 

.033 
.028 

8284 

A 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

66300 
61360 
55560 
54033 

49440 
47930 
37360 
84443 

20.75 
27.00 
28.25 
81.75 

67.5 
61.7 
60.0 
68.7 

74.6 
78.1 
67.2 
63.7 

.15 
.14 

.024 
.021 

.49 
.47 

.022 
.023 

8235 

i 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

63220 
58240 
47740 
47600 

68300 
47630 
29930 
30530 

13.50 
21.25 
33.25 
34.00 

64.9 
63.5 
63.9 
57.2 

92.2 
813 
62.7 
64.1 

.10 
.11 

.017 
.017 

53 
56 

.035 
.034 

.087 
.022 

8296 

A 

Natural 
Natural 
Annealed 
Annealed 

A 
B 
A 
B 

64020 
58720 
53860 
50660 

49510 
42960 
83710 
32710 

23.25 
30.25 
29.25 
35.00 

58.1 
60.0 
58.6 
64.7 

775 
78.2 
62.6 
64.6 

.11 
.13 

.025 
.017 

.46 
.46 

2S2 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON"  AND  STEEL. 


homogeneity  of  steel,  or  of  comparing  two  different  samples,  is  to 
make  the  tests  on  annealed  bars.  This  practice  was  pursued  in 
Chapter  XIII. 

SEC.  XVe. — Effect  of  annealing  on  the  physical  properties  of 
eye-bar  flats. — It  does  not  follow  that  plates  and  bars  should  be 
annealed  to  put  them  into  their  best  condition.  On  the  contrary, 
the  foregoing  tests  have  shown  that  very  little  is  gained  in  ductility, 
while  there  is  quite  a  loss  in  working  strength,  and  that  it  would 
be  better  and  much  cheaper  to  choose  a  softer  steel  in  its  natural 
state.  Moreover,  it  must  be  considered  that  the  bars  which  have 
been  discussed  in  the  foregoing  tables  have  been  small  test-pieces 
which  could  be  treated  under  fairly  constant  conditions,  and  even 
then  the  results  are  far  from  regular. 

TABLE  XV-H. 
Comparative  Tests  of  Eye-Bar  Steel. 


Longitudinal  strip;  cut  from  near 
the  edge  of  eye-bar;  natural. 

Full-sized  eye-bar;  annealed. 

A 

->->  t« 

h 

... 

p 

o 

43  (H 

h 

... 

h 

o 

i 

f*a 

dS  . 

o-d+3 

«* 

£  4-' 

l»d 

e  ®  . 

OJ3-W 

dft 

S  . 

ci  *•> 

1 

*iS 

III 

—   OQ  —7. 

3§S 

in 

eductio 
of  area 
cent. 

2d 

1! 
3& 

Hi 

III 

in 

-.   OQ   ft«2 

longati 
in  8  inc 
per  cen 

.2<s 

•4-i    0>      . 
O   ^*3 

3<3fl 

•O«w  ® 
OP  O  O 

Ed 

i! 

n 

w 

M 

3 

H 

M 

H 

H 

m 

« 

w 

i 

40710 

68830 

27.00 

47.18 

59.1 

86500 

62100 

43.70 

82.60 

58.8 

2 

41570 

71400 

26.25 

50.08 

58.2 

40400 

65200 

40.00 

46.55 

62.0 

8 

33780 

69460 

25.75 

44.81 

57.3 

38300 

63250 

41.85 

45.95 

60.5 

4 

40880 

69400 

25.00 

48.41 

58.9 

40600 

67100 

86.00 

45.00 

60.5 

5 

41480 

72320 

24.50 

46.78 

57.4 

42100 

65000 

86.60 

48.40 

64.8 

6 

41310 

73640 

23.75 

86.54 

56.1 

83700 

57600 

45.60 

50.00 

58.5 

7 

40370 

72060 

25.60 

40.00 

56.0 

35400 

64700 

45.62 

61.30 

54.7 

8 

41900 

76700 

25.75 

43.76 

54.6 

89600 

67700 

88.43 

42.65 

58.5 

9 

41070 

69680 

27.00 

44.33 

58.9 

35900 

65200 

40.00 

46.40 

55.1 

Av. 

41008 

71499 

25.62 

44.60 

57.4 

38056 

64206 

4087 

46.54 

59.3 

These  deductions  will  be  corroborated  by  Table  XV-H,  which 
gives  the  parallel  records  of  pieces  cut  from  a  flat  bar  in  its  natural 
state,  and  the  full-sized  eye-bars  after  annealing.  The  steel  was 
made  and  rolled  by  one  of  our  largest  American  works.  It  is  plain 
that  there  is  a  great  gain  in  the  elongation,  but  the  reduction  of 
area  is  unaffected  and  there  is  a  decided  loss  in  elastic  and  ultimate 
strength. 

SEC.  XVf. — Methods  of  annealing. — A  different  view  of  the  sub- 
ject is  taken  by  Grus.  C.  Henning.*  He  states  that  steel  is  injured 

*  Trans.  Am.  Soc.  Hech.  Eng.,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  572. 


HEAT   TREATMENT. 


283 


by  annealing  if  it  is  in  contact  with  flame,  while  it  is  improved  if 
it  is  reheated  in  a  sealed  muffle.  I  cannot  assent  to  this  broad  con- 
clusion, for,  while  it  may  be  true  that  a  flame  can  be  run  too  hot 
and  the  piece  be  burned  through  carelessness,  it  by  no  means  fol- 
lows that  such  local  overheating  is  necessary;  nor  is  there  any 
ground  for  assuming  the  absorption  of  deleterious  gases  from  a 
proper  flame.  Moreover,  the  figures  which  he  gives  do  not  show 
a  decided  improvement  of  any  kind  in  the  bars  which  were  heated 
in  a  retort. 

TABLE  XV-I. 

Comparative  Physical  Properties  of  Natural  and  Annealed  Flat 
Steel  Bars;  as  given  by  Henning.* 


. 

a 

.~ 

1 

S3 

s 

a 

M 

1 

I 

umber  of  p 

!ri 

8i 

Si 

s*£ 

1* 

verage  thic 
of  flats;  in 
inches. 

* 
d 
£ 
2 

1 

lastic  limit 
pounds  per 
square  inch 

It.  strength 
pounds  per 
square  inch 

longation  ii 
8  inches; 
per  cent. 

eduction  of 
per  cent. 

lastic  ratio; 
per  cent. 

K 

H 

«< 

0 

H 

p 

H 

P! 

m 

10 

1  to  IA 

1.12 

Natural 
Annealed 

38737 
40299 

71226 
69296 

23.89 
25.53 

47.0 
53.5 

54.4 
58.2 

16 

1|  to  l& 

1.41 

Natural 
Annealed 

85411 

38298 

68465 
67971 

24.38 
24.95 

46.65 
49.17 

51.7 
56.3 

12 

1J  to  1J 

1.62 

Natural 
Annealed 

35729 
38692 

69490 
69411 

24.25 
25.28 

47.27 
49.85 

51.4 
55.7 

It  is  stated  (loc.  cit.,  p.  577)  that  most  of  the  "flats"  were 
"properly"  annealed,  and  so  I  have  averaged  the  records  which  he 
gives  of  the  natural  and  the  reheated  pieces,  separating  them  into 
three  groups  according  to  thickness.  The  results  are  given  in  Table 
XV-I.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  metal  has  undergone  very  little 
change  at  all,  and  it  is  impossible  to  see  anything  which  can  be 
called  a  radical  improvement. 

Any  attempt  to  carry  out  a  general  system  of  annealing  plates 
and  shapes  will  result  in  wide  variations  in  temperatures  and  rates 
of  cooling,  for  it  will  be  impossible  to  have  a  large  pile  of  metal 
heated  uniformly  throughout,  since  the  outside  of  the  lot  will  be  at 

*  Trans.  Amer.  8oc.  Mech.  Eng.,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  586,  et  seq.  The  factor  which 
Mr.  Henning  calls  the  "yield  point"  Is  here  called  the  elastic  limit  I  ha^pfe 
omitted  from  the  averages  the  tests  which  are  noted  in  the  original  as  being 
wrongly  marked,  and  also  three  tests  which  show  such  extremely  low  elongation 
that  it  Is  certain  the  material  was  not  properly  treated,  or  that  there  Is  an 
error  In  the  records. 


284 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


a  full  heat  when  the  interior  is  unaffected.  Since  the  manufacturer 
may  always  manipulate  the  operation  so  as  to  affect  the  test-pieces, 
in  preference  to  the  rest  of  the  steel,  and  since  it  will  be  to  his. 
interest  to  keep  the  temperature  as  low  as  possible  to  avoid  warp- 
ing, there  will  be  no  certainty  either  that  the  work  has  been  properly 
carried  out  or  that  it  has  been  of  the  least  advantage. 

SEC.  XVg. — Further  experiments  on  annealing  rolled  bars. — 
The  experiments  on  annealing  related  in  this  chapter  were  per- 
formed by  the  usual  method  of  estimating  temperatures  by  the  eye. 
They  were,  however,  conducted  under  conditions  exceptionally 
favorable  to  uniform  results,  as  the  pieces  were  small  and  were- 
enclosed  in  a  muffle  and  were  carefully  watched.  No  ordinary  an- 


TABLE  XV-J. 
Effect  of  Annealing  at  about  800°  C.  (1472 


Properties  of  Structural  Steel. 


F.)  on  the  Physical 
(Bars  are  rolled  flats  2"x%".) 


s€a 

s?, 

«» 

O  3J 

Limits  of 

1-1  c?  * 

8^ 

•**  P< 

Pi 

d 

Ulitimate 
Strength 
Ibs.  per  sq. 

Kind  of  Steel. 

No.  of 
bars. 

Con- 
dition of 
Lar. 

ip 

IL 

'3  aS 

1 

•2 

inch. 

>ss 

o>|  o- 

0  B  « 

Isl 

H 

1 

art( 

3 

57  to  61,000 

Acid  open  hearth. 

10 

Natural 

60.110 

39.770 

33.3 

52.0 

66.1 

15 

Annealed 

55,690 

36,180 

36.3 

56.8 

64.9- 

56  to  64,000 

Basic  open  hearth. 

12 
17 

Natural 
Annealed 

61.740 
57,870 

38,861 
35.320 

33.0 
36.6 

52.3 
57.6 

63.0 
61.0 

58  to  68,000 

"Transferred." 

10 

Natural 

62,050 

39.590 

33.4 

54.9 

64.6 

See  Section  Xlla. 

15 

Annealed 

55,590 

34,790 

37.3 

59.0 

62.6 

nealing  of  eye-bars  or  plates  would  be  carried  out  under  such 
favorable  auspices.  For  purposes  of  comparison,  I  have  repeated 
some  of  the  experiments,  the  temperatures  being  determined  by 
the  Le  Chatelier  pyrometer.  In  Table  XV-J  it  is  shown  that  the 
heat  treatment  has  reduced  the  tensile  strength,  the  elastic  limit, 
and  the  elastic  ratio,  and  has  raised  the  elongation  and  reduction 
of  area.  In  Table  XV-K  are  compared  the  bars  showing  similar- 
ultimate  strength.  The  annealed  pieces  show  greater  elongation, 
but  a  lower  elastic  ratio,  and  in  order  to  obtain  the  same  elastic 
limit  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  a  harder  steel,  whereby  the 
elongation  would  be  somewhat  lowered.  It  would  seem  doubtful 
therefore  whether  the  bars  under  the  most  careful  annealing  are.- 


HEAT   TREATMENT. 


285 


more  suitable  for  structural  work  than  the  ordinary  product  of  a 
mill,  while  assuredly  the  extra  cost  of  such  careful  treatment  of 
long  and  heavy  sections  would  make  it  commercially  out  of  the 
question  in  almost  all  cases.  It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  the 
treatment  of  eye-bars  is  a  different  question,  this  being  made  neces- 
sary by  the  work  done  in  shaping  the  ends. 

TABLE  XV-K. 

Comparison  of  the  Natural  and  Annealed  Bars  shown  in  Table 
XV-J,  which  show  about  the  same  Ultimate  Strength. 


Limits  of 

its 

P 

—  M 

B  ® 

—  u 

o  « 
p. 

. 

Ultimate 
Strength  : 
Ibs.  per  sq. 
inch. 

Kind  of  Steel. 

No.  of 
bars. 

Con- 
dition of 
bars. 

verage  u 
matestrc 
Ibs.  per  s< 

•SSa 

V—1  O 

na 

£lsr 

Ifl 

Ill 

{ 

•< 

«< 

w 

« 

H 

54  to  58.000 

Acid. 

10 

Natural 

56.200 

39,550 

29.7 

58.8 

70.4 

52  to  59  000 

15 

Annealed 

55.6*) 

36180 

36  3 

56.8 

64.9 

55  to  58.000 

Basic 

12 

Natural 

56.8-0 

37,760 

30.4 

56.4 

66.4 

54  to  64,000 

17 

Annealed 

57.870 

35.320 

36.6 

57.6 

61.0 

55  to  60.000 

Acid.* 

1 

Natural 

58130 

40400 

30.1 

61.7 

69.  f> 

55  to  60,000 

7 

Annealed 

55.021 

31,576 

30.4 

60.0 

57.4 

SEC.  XVh.f — General  remarks  on  the  determination  of  tempera- 
tures.— For  the  commercial  operation  of  annealing,  the  tempera- 
ture may  be  conveniently  and  accurately  determined  by  the  use  of 
a  platinum  or  copper  ball  with  the  usual  water  receiver.  In  more 
accurate  work  it  is  advisable  to  use  a  Le  Chatelier  pyrometer,  but 
in  either  case  considerable  care  must  be  taken  to  insure  that  the 
piece  of  metal  which  registers  the  temperature,  whether  it  be  the 
ball  or  the  electric  couple,  is  of  the  same  degree  of  heat  as  the  forg- 
ing or  the  casting  under  treatment. 

It  is  generally  taken  for  granted  that  if  the  juncture  of  a  Plati- 
num— Platinum — ten  per  cent.  Rhodium  couple  is  in  contact  with 
.the  steel  under  treatment,  the  temperature  as  registered  is  correct. 
Practically,  although  not  absolutely,  this  is  true,  for  if  the  con- 
ditions of  heating  are  the  same,  that  is,  if  the  furnaces  are  of  the 
same  general  size  and  plan  and  the  pieces  under  treatment  are 


•These  constitute  Group  III  in  Table  XV-C. 

t  The  remainder  of  this  chapter  is  mainly  the  work  of  J.  W.  Campbell. 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

approximately  the  same  size,  the  readings  are  relative,  and  being 
relative  may  be  considered  to  be  correct.  Now  is  this  true  under 
conditions  radically  different?  If  a  small  piece  of  steel  is  placed 
in  a  muffle  and  heated,  the  muffle  having  been  at  a  high  temperature 
before  the  introduction  of  the  piece,  it  will  be  found  even  while  the 
piece  is  black  or  very  dark  red,  say  not  over  650°  C.,  that  the 
needle  of  a  Le  Chatelier  pyrometer,  the  couple  of  which  is  in  con- 
tact with  the  steel,  will  indicate  a  temperature  some  thirty  degrees 
higher.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  while  it  takes  some 
time  for  the  mass  of  steel  to  absorb  the  heat  from  the  muffle,  the 
fine  wires  of  the  couple  arrive  at  the  high  temperature  in  perhaps 
twenty  or  thirty  seconds.  Of  course,  the  juncture,  being  in  con- 
tact with  the  cooler  steel,  is  considerably  cooler  than  the  furnace, 
but  nevertheless  it  is  some  degrees  higher  than  the  piece,  and  this 
higher  temperature  is  the  one  which  sets  up  the  difference  of  poten- 
tial which  affects  the  galvanometer. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  case  in  still  greater  measure  with 
larger  furnaces  and  larger  masses,  and  if  it  is  desired  to  compare 
a  small  piece  with  a  large  one  the  temperature  of  treatment  must 
be  the  same.  There  is  one  way  of  arriving  at  this  with  certainty, 
and  this  is  in  accordance  with  what*  Howe  describes  as  the  con- 
dition of  invisibility.  He  sets  forth  that  a  certain  color  is  indica- 
tive of  a  certain  temperature,  whatever  the  material,  and  proves  it 
by  stating  that  if  pieces  of  several  different  kinds  of  metals  be 
placed  in  a  furnace  and  heated  carefully  and  slowly,  and  held  till 
it  is  certain  that  they  are  heated  equally  through  and  through, 
on  looking  into  the  furnace  nothing  can  be  seen  but  the  walls  of 
the  furnace.  The  pieces  are  invisible.  He  then  shows  that  since 
the  only  light  is  that  given  off  by  the  heated  surfaces  themselves 
and  since  if  there  were  even  the  slightest  difference  in  color,  the 
edges  of  the  pieces  could  be  seen,  the  whole  furnace  and  contents 
must  be  the  same  color  and  this  he  calls  "invisibility." 

Now  if  a  large  piece  of  metal  is  heated  until  the  wires  of  the 
couple  cannot  be  seen  in  contact  with  the  piece,  and  if  this  heating 
be  continued  until  the  piece  shows  an  uniform  color  all  over  its 
surface,  and  until  it  has  been  heated  throughout  to  this  color,  an 
absolute  reading  is  obtained — at  least  absolute  within  the  limits 
of  error  of  the  galvanometer.  In  this  connection  it  should  be 
stated  that  the  Le  Chatelier  pyrometer  is  the  best  practical 
method  of  taking  readings  of  high  temperatures.  That  a  piece 


HEAT    TREATMENT.       ,  287 

has  been  heated  thoroughly  can  only  be  discovered  by  prac- 
tice and  a  knowledge  of  the  heating  capacity  of  the  furnace.  As 
good  a  way  perhaps  as  any  is  to  note  the  time  of  heating  to  a  certain 
indicated  temperature,  then  cool  under  conditions  which  may  be 
duplicated  and  note  time  of  cooling ;  then  heat  to  this  temperature 
again,  soak  for  some  time  and  cool  under  previous  conditions,  and 
if  the  cooling  takes  longer  the  piece  is  heated  more  nearly  uni- 
formly. After  a  few  trials  in  this  way  the  necessary  time  may  be 
estimated  with  sufficient  accuracy.  It  may  seem  that  this  is  an 
unnecessary  refinement,  but  up  to  the  present  time,  except  in  a 
limited  number  of  grades  of  steel  and  at  a  few  works,  proper  atten- 
tion has  not  been  given  to  the  annealing  of  steel. 

SEC.  XVi. — Definition  of  the  term  "critical  point." — If  a  piece 
of  steel  containing  over  0.50  per  cent,  of  carbon  be  allowed  to  cool 
slowly  from  a  high  temperature,  certain  peculiar  phenomena  will 
be  noticed.  The  cooling  at  first  proceeds  at  a  uniformly  retarded 
rate,  but  when  a  temperature  of  about  700°  C.  is  reached  there 
is  an  interruption  of  this  regularity.  In  some  cases  the  rate  of 
cooling  may  become  very  slow,  in  other  cases  the  bar  may  not  de- 
crease in  temperature  at  all,  while  in  still  other  cases  the  bar  may 
actually  grow  hotter  for  a  moment  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is 
free  to  radiate  heat  in  every  direction  and  that  it  has  been  cooling 
regularly  down  to  that  particular  temperature.  Moreover,  it  will 
be  found  that  when  this  "critical  point"  is  passed,  the  bar  cools  as 
before  until  it  reaches  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere.  It  is, 
of  course,  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  a  bar  will  cool  in 
less  time  from  1000°  C.  to  900°  C.  than  it  will  from  200°  C.  to 
100°  C.  and  the  term  "uniformly  retarded,"  as  above  used,  is  in- 
tended to  cover  this  fact. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  there  must  be  some  change  taking  place 
within  the  metal  itself  giving  rise  to  heat,  and  any  point  at  which 
such  an  action  takes  place  in  any  steel  is  called  a  "critical  point" 
and  in  metallography  such  a  point  is  denoted  by  the  letter  A,  the 
particular  one  just  described  in  which  there  is  a  retardation  in  the 
cooling  of  a  piece  of  steel  being  denoted  by  the  term  Ar.  In  heat- 
ing a  piece  of  steel  through  this  range  of  temperature,  we  naturally 
encounter  an  exactly  opposite  phenomenon,  there  being  an  absorp- 
tion of  heat  by  internal  molecular  reaction,  with  a  consequent 
retardation  in  the  rise  of  temperature,  and  this  point  is  called  Ac. 
It  has  been  shown  by  Prof.  Howe  that  Ac  is  some  30°  C.  higher 


288 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL". 


than  Ar,  but  it  is  also  found  that  in  order  to  induce  the  change 
Ar  the  steel  must  first  be  heated  past  the  point  Ac.  while  the 
change  at  Ac  cannot  take  place  unless  the  steel  has  first  been 
cooled  to  a  point  below  Ar.  It  is  clear  therefore  that  these  two 
retardations  are  simply  opposite  phases  of  the  same  phenomena. 

The  previous  discussion  has  considered  only  steels  containing  as 
much  as  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  carbon  and  mention  has  been 
made  of  only  one  critical  point,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is 
quite  certain  that  there  are  three,  although  it  will  be  shown  later 
that  the  three  points  are  practically  coincident  in  steels  containing 


900C 


850 


.50 


.60 


.70 


.80 


ABSCISSAS  =CARBON  CONTENT 
.ORDINATES=TEMPERATURE  CENTt 


FIG.  XV-A. — VARIATIONS  IN  THE  CRITICAL  POINTS  IN  DIFFERENT 

STEELS. 

over  0.30  per  cent,  of  carbon.  At  one  of  these  points,  recently 
proven  to  be  the  second,  is  the  point  of  magnetic  transformation. 
Below  this  point  carbon  steel  is  attracted  by  a  magnet.  Abo^e  this 
point  it  is  attracted  only  slightly  if  at  all.  It  has  been  before 
explained  that  the  critical  points  are  found  at  a  slightly  different 
temperature  according  to  whether  the  metal  is  being  heated  or 
being  cooled,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  point  of  magnetic  trans- 
formation, which  coincides  with  the  second  critical  point,  will  vary 
in  the  same  way. 

In  soft  steels  these  three  points  are  readily  distinguished,  but  as; 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AXD  STEEL. 


No.  1. 


No.  2. 


No.  3. 


No.  4. 


No.  5. 


No.  6. 


No.  7. 


NO:      8. 

FIG.  XV-B. 


No.  9 


HEAT   TREATMENT. 


No.  10. 


No.  11. 


No.  12. 


No.  13. 


No.  14. 


No.  15. 


No.  16. 


No.  17. 

FIG.  XV-C. 


No.  18. 


METALLURGY  OF  IROtf  AND  STEEL. 


No.  20. 


No.  21. 


No.  22. 


No.  23. 


No.  24. 


FIG.  XV-D. 


HEAT  TREATMENT. 


No.  25. 


No.  26. 


No.  27. 


No.  28. 


No.  29. 


No.  30, 


FIG.  XV-E. 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


No.  31. 


No.  32. 


No.  33. 


No.  34. 


No.  35. 


No.  36. 


FIG.  XV-F. 


HEAT    TREATMENT. 


T  '^wirS 


No.  37. 


No.  38 


No.  39. 


No.  40. 


No.  41. 


No.  42. 


No.  43. 


No.  44. 

FIG.  XY-G. 


No.  45. 


HEAT   TREATMENT. 

the  carbon  content  is  increased  the  difference  in  temperature  be- 
tween these  points  grows  less  and  less,  until  in  the  harder  steels 
the  variations  are  hardly  beyond  the  limits  of  experimental  error. 
Moreover,  there  are  several  elements  beside  carbon,  like  mangan- 
ese, phosphorus,  etc.,  which  influence  the  location  of  the  critical 
point,  so  that  with  two  steels  of  the  same  carbon  content,  but  with 
Tarying  manganese,  the  upper  critical  point  of  one  may  be  lower 
than  the  lower  critical  point  of  the  other. 

The  three  critical  points  in  a  cooling  bar  are  distinguished  as 
Ar3,  Ar2,  Ar1?  the  point  Ar3  being  the  one  at  the  highest  tempera- 
ture and  Art  at  the  lowest.  In  heating  a  bar  the  same  three  in- 
terruptions take  place  and  the  points  are  designated  Ac1?  Ac2,  Ac3, 
it  being  understood  that  in  each  case  the  lowest  numerals  Act  and 
Ar±  refer  to  the  lowest  temperatures,  and  the  highest  numerals 
Ac3-  and  Ar3  to  the  highest  temperatures,  and  that  points  bearing 
the  same  exponent  like  Ac±  and  Arx  represent  practically  the  same 
degree  of  temperature.  In  Fig.  XV-A  is  shown  a  diagram  which 
aims  to  represent  the  variations  in  the  critical  points  for  different 
steels.  The  data  given  by  different  experimenters  vary  consider- 
ably, but  the  heavy  lines  representing  Ar1?  Ar2  and  Ar3  are  found 
by  striking  a  sort  of  average  from  the  available  information.  On 
•each  side  of  these  heavy  lines  are  shaded  areas  which  represent  the 
variations  in  the  position  of  the  critical  point  caused  by  differences 
in  the  content  of  manganese,  phosphorus,  etc.  In  the  case  of  the 
soft  steels  the  critical  points  are  so  far  apart  that  the  variations 
caused  by  these  elements  do  not  cause  the  maximum  of  one  point  to 
coincide  with  the  minimum  of  the  one  just  above,  but  as  the  content 
of  carbon  increases,  the  range  between  the  highest  and  lowest  criti- 
cal points  decreases,  while  the  variations  do  not  decrease,  and  as  a 
consequence  the  maxima  and  minima  run  together  so  that  they 
are  indistinguishable. 

The  nature  of  the  change  that  takes  place  at  any  one  of  these 
critical  points  is  not  known,  but  it  is  known  that  at  each  such  point 
there  is  a  great  change  in  the  micro-structure  of  the  steel.  It  is 
known  that  the  structure  of  the  metal  is  quite  different  on  either 
side  of  the  critical  points ;  that  the  forms,  in  which  the  iron  and  its 
alloyed  constituents  present  themselves,  change  quite  suddenly  at 
certain  definite  points,  and  the  structures  found  under  certain  well 
understood  conditions  are  so  characteristic  that  they  form  the  basis 
of  a  science,  but  it  is  not  known  whether  the  heat  liberated  or  ab- 


296  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

sorbed  at  a  critical  point  is  due  to  the  change  from  one  structure 
to  another,  or  whether  both  the  change  and  the  heat  are  due  to 
some  unknown  molecular  phenomena. 

The  next  section  will  discuss  the  structures  and  forms  which  are 
best  known  and  which  must  be  studied  to  understand  the  effect 
of  heat  treatment. 

SEC.  XVj. — Definitions  of  the  different  structures  seen  under  the 
microscope. — The  microscopic  examination  of  almost  any  piece  of 
steel  properly  polished  and  etched  will  show  that  it  is  not  entirely 
homogeneous,  but  that  it  is  usually  made  up  of  at  least  two  differ- 
ent forms  of  matter.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  it  is  always  made 
up  of  different  substances,  for  it  is  generally  agreed  that  some  of 
these  forms  are  allotropic,*  the  particular  forms  present  in  any 
one  piece  depending  upon  the  way  in  which  that  piece  has  been 
heated  and  cooled.  Considering  all  variations  in  heat  treatment, 
the  following  forms  will  be  encountered  by  the  investigator:  aus- 
tenite,  martensite,  pearlite,  cementite,  ferrite,  troostite  and  sorbite. 
Austenite  is  produced  only  by  quenching  steel  containing  more  than 
1.30  per  cent,  of  carbon  in  ice  water  from  above  1050°  C.  Its  ap- 
pearance is  intended  to  be  represented  by  the  white  portion  of  No. 
1,  Fig.  XV-B,  but  this  may  be  cementite  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  piece  was  steel  containing  1.40  per  cent,  carbon,  one-quarter 
of  an  inch  thick,  and  was  quenched  in  melting  ice  from  a  dazzling 
heat.  Even  under  these  conditions  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  a 
large  quantity  of  austenite,  since  the  tendency  to  revert  to  the  next 
form  is  very  strong  when  the  proper  temperature  is  reached.  The 
theory  of  austenite,  as  well  as  of  martensite,  will  be  taken  up  in 
Section  XYo.  At  about  1050°  C.  a  change  occurs,  and  in  this 
grade  of  steel  quenched  below  tins  point  and  above  A^  the  second 
form,  martensite,  appears.  This  phase,  together  with  a  certain 
amount  of  cementite  or  of  ferrite,  depending  on  the  carbon  con- 
tent, is  found  in  carbon  steels  containing  less  than  1.30  per  cent, 
of  carbon  quenched  at  any  point  above  Ar±,  as  will  be  shown  in  Table 
XY-M.  Martensite  is  the  constituent  which  confers  hardness  on 
steel  and  corresponds  to  the  maximum  hardness  obtainable  by 

*  The  word  "allotropic"  is  used  by  some  of  the  metallographists  to  designate 
the  character  of  the  metallic  aggregates.  This  is  not  strictly  correct,  since 
allotropy  refers  to  unlike  forms  of  the  same  element,  while  the  different  metallic 
aggregates  found  in  microscopical  investigations  of  masses  of  steel  are  not  ele- 
ments and  are  not  of  the  same  composition.  The  term  "phase"  was  introduced 
by  Gibb  and  is  used  later  in  this  discussion. 


IIEJI    TREATMENT.  297 

carbon  alone.  It  may  be  compared  to  a  sugar  solution  which  is  more 
or  less  sweet  according  to  the  proportion  of  sugar  present.  Marten- 
site  may  be  easily  recognized  by  its  appearance,  shown  in  Fig.  XV-B 
No.  2.  At  the  upper  critical  point  Ar3,  the  conditions  become  more 
favorable  for  the  production  of  cementite  and  ferrite,  and  variable 
amounts  of  one  or  the  other  are  formed,  depending  on  the  carbon 
content;  at  the  second  critical  point,  Ar2,  no  radical  change  is 
noticeable,  the  only  effect  being  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  ce- 
mentite or  ferrite,  but  at  the  lower  critical  point,  Arly  the  marten- 
site  disappears,  and  in  steels  cooled  slowly  to  below  this  temperature 
the  structure  is  composed  entirely  of  ferrite,  or  entirely  of  pearlite, 
or  of  pearlite  mixed  with  ferrite  or  cementite.  Ferrite  is  iron 
free  from  carbon  and  forms  almost  the  whole  of  a  low  carbon  steel, 
while  cementite  is  considered  to  be  a  compound  of  iron  and  carbon 
denoted  by  the  formula  Fe3C,  the  carbon  of  this  form  being  known 
as  cement  carbon.  Pearlite  is  formed  by  the  structural  union  of 
ferrite  and  cementite  in  definite  proportions,  not  being  a  com- 
pound, but  simply  an  intimate  mixture.  It  appears  in  two  forms, 
granular  and  lamellar,  the  former  being  seen  in  steel  which  has 
been  worked  or  reheated  to  a  low  heat,  while  the  latter  is  found 
only  in  steel  which  has  been  cooled  slowly  through  the  critical 
range.  It  is  to  the  lamellar  variety  that  its  name  is  due,  the  struc- 
ture by  oblique  light  giving  an  effect  like  mother  of  pearl.  In 
addition  to  these  common  forms  there  are  two  others,  troostite  and 
sorbite,  of  which  little  is  known  at  present.  As  steel  cools  through 
the  critical  range,  the  transition  from  martensite  to  one  of  the 
forms  contained  in  unhardened  steel  is  not  abrupt,  but  appears  to 
be  in  two  steps.  Thus  by  quenching  during  this  critical  change  a 
new  condition  will  be  obtained — troostite — and  if  this  quenching 
takes  place  at  the  end  of  the  critical  range  in  cooling,  a  second 
effect  is  noticed,  which  is  called  sorbite.  Quenching  in  lead,  or 
reheating  quenched  steel  to  a  purple  tint  may  also  produce  sorbite, 
and  Osmond  states  that  when  small  pieces  are  cooled  in  air  the 
chilling  is  sufficiently  rapid  to  prevent  the  complete  transformation 
into  ferrite  and  cementite,  some  sorbite  being  formed.  Thus  aus- 
tenite,  martensite  and  troostite  are  found  only  in  steel  quenched  at 
or  above  the  critical  range,  while  ferrite,  cementite,  pearlite  and 
sorbite,  are  characteristic  of  unhardened  steel.  It  is  difficult  to 
develop  troostite  and  sorbite  in  the  process  of  etching  in  such  a  way 
that  they  will  be  clearly  visible  under  the  microscope,  and  it  has 


298  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

already  been  stated  that  the  conditions  of  their  existence  are  uncer- 
tain, so  that  for  practical  purposes  these  two  forms  may  be  neg- 
lected until  their  properties  have  been  further  studied,  and  since 
the  conditions  under  which  austenite  is  formed  are  never  realized 
in  practice,  this  also  may  be  passed  by.  Ferrite  and  cementite 
present  very  nearly  the  same  appearance,  but  they  never  occur  to- 
gether, and  as  they  differ  very  much  in  hardness  it  is  easy  to  dis- 
tinguish them,  for  ferrite  is  pure  iron  and  if  the  point  of  a  needle 
is  drawn  across  it  the  surface  will  be  easily  scratched,  while  cemen- 
tite is  a  compound  of  carbon  and  iron  and  the  point  will  make  very 
little  impression.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  ferrite  is  structure- 
less even  under  the  highest  powers  of  the  microscope. 

Pearlite  is  an  "eutectic  alloy,"  a  term  which  may^possibly  not  be 
familiar  to  all  readers.  An  eutectic  alloy  is  formed  by  the  simul- 
taneous crystallization  of  different  metals  in  a  liquid  mixture,  as 
for  example  a  mixture  of  copper  and  silver.  These  metals  form  an 
alloy  in  the  proportions  of  72%  silver  and  28%  copper  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  770°  C.  (1418°  F.),  and  if  a  melted  mixture  of  these  two 
metals  contain  any  different  proportion  than  this,  and  if  it  be 
allowed  to  cool,  the  element  in  excess  of  this  proportion  crystallizes 
out,  the  crystals  remaining  uniformly  distributed  throughout  the 
molten  mass.  When  the  critical  point  of  770°  C.  is  reached,  the 
alloy  of  72  silver  and  28  copper  becomes  solid,  and  entrains  the 
innumerable  crystals  of  the  excess  element  which  have  separated 
from  the  mother  liquid.  A  little  consideration  will  show  that  under 
the  microscope  the  element  solidifying  first  and  the  eutectic  alloy 
will  occupy  areas  exactly  proportional  to  the  original  constitution. 

In  steel  at  high  temperatures  the  same  conditions  exist  as  in  the 
mass  of  silver  and  copper  just  described,  save  that  the  elements 
are  in  what  is  called  "solid  solution,"  martensi'te  at  the  lowest 
critical  point  going  through  a  transition  into  ferrite  and  cementite. 
The  element  in  excess  separates  by  itself,  and  when  the  proper 
relation  has  been  established  the  ferrite  and  cementite  crystallize 
together  in  most  intimate  mixture  to  form  pearlite.  As  stated  pre- 
viously, the  excess  of  cementite  or  ferrite  begins  to  form  by  itself 
at  the  upper  critical  point,  a  small  amount  being  found  in  steel 
quenched  just  below  this,  and  at  the  second  point  this  amount  is 
increased,  but  this  excess  is  always  small  except  in  the  case  of  low 
carbon  steel. 


HEAT    TREATMENT.  299 

The  foregoing  argument  may  be  summarized  as  stated  by  Sau- 
veur: 

(1)  All  unhardened  steels  are  composed  of  pearlite  alone,  or  of 
pearlite  associated  with  ferrite  or  cementite. 

(2)  Without  taking  into  consideration  austenite  and  troostite, 
hardened  steel  is  composed  of  martensite  alone,  or  of  martensite 
associated  with  ferrite  or  cementite. 

(3)  Ferrite  and  cementite  cannot  exist  together  in  the  same 
piece  of  steel. 

(4)  The  presence  of  the  lamellar  variety  of  pearlite  is  almost 
certain  proof  that  the  steel  has  been  annealed. 

Following  the  proposition  that  ferrite  is  iron  free  from  carbon 
and  that  cementite  is  a  compound  represented  by  the  formula, 
Fe3C,  it  is  evident  that  in  very  low  steels,  say  ranging  from  .02-.10 
carbon,  the  structure  will  be  almost  entirely  ferrite,  and  that  in 
steel  of  2.00  per  cent,  carbon  there  will  be  an  excess  of  cementite. 
There  will  therefore  be  one  point  of  carbon  content  at  which  the 
component  ferrite  and  cementite  will  both  be  satisfied,  which  is  to 
say  that  the  original  proportion  will  be  that  of  the  eutectic  alloy. 
This  occurs  in  a  pure  steel  containing  about  .80  per  cent,  of  car- 
bon, the  micro-structure  of  this  grade  showing  no  ferrite  or  cemen- 
tite. 

Late  investigations  seem  to  prove  that  in  hypereutectic  steels, 
that  is,  those  containing  more  than  .89  per  cent,  of  carbon,  the 
upper  critical  point,  A3,  follows  the  curve,  SE,  in  Fig.  XV-H. 
This  is  the  point  at  which  cementite  begins  to  form  and,  according 
to  Howe  and  Eoberts-Austen,  progressively  separates  out  within 
the  martensite  in  cooling  and  forms  a  network  whose  coarseness  is 
proportional  to  the  temperature  to  which  the  steel  has  been  heated. 
No  break  in  the  cooling  curve  has  been  noticed,  but  the  first  appear- 
ance of  cementite  is  considered  to  mark  the  point,  Ar3,  while  Ar2 
and  Ar±  are  as  given  in  diagram  Fig..  XY-A. 

Tables  taken  from  Prof.  Sauveur  give  results  as  shown  in  Tables 
XV-L  and  XV-M,  the  numerals  being  intended  to  represent  per 
cent,  of  volume,  since  if  a  body  containing  an  infinite  number  of 
particles,  uniformly  distributed,  is  cut  by  a  plane,  the  ratio  of  the 
sum  of  the  small  areas  to  the  total  area  is  equal  to  the  ratio  of  the 
volume  of  the  small  particles  to  the  total  volume.  Theoretically, 
of  course,  this  is  not  true  of  a  mass  of  steel,  but  for  practical  pur- 
poses it  is  correct. 


300 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


The  different  photographs  in  Fig.  XV-B  represent  the  appear- 
ance of  steels  of  different  carbon  content.  No.  3  is  a  steel  con- 
taining 1.39  per  cent,  of  carbon  and  is  from  a  bar  in  the  condition 
in  which  it  left  the  rolls.  It  shows  a  pearlite  grain  surrounded  by 
walls  of  cementite.  Nos.  4  and  5  represent  lamellar  and  granular 

TABLE  XV-L. 
Theoretical  Micro-Structure  of  Carbon  Steels. 


Carbon 
per  cent. 

Pearlite. 

Fe. 

Cem. 

0 

0 

100 

0 

.10 

12 

88 

0 

.40 

50 

50 

0 

.70 

87 

13 

0 

.80 

100 

0 

0 

1.00 

97 

0 

3 

1.20 

93 

0 

7 

2.50 

71 

0 

29 

TABLE  XV-M. 
Micro-Structural  Composition  of  some  Quenched  Carbon  Steels. 


Carbon,  per 
cent. 

Quenched  above 
Ar, 

Quenched  between 
Ars  and  Ara. 

Quenched  between 
Ara  and  Ai^. 

Quenched  below 
Aij  or  slowly  cooled 

Mart. 

Fer. 

Cem. 

Mart 

Fer. 

Cem. 

Mart. 

Fer. 

Cem. 

Pearl. 

Fer. 

Cem., 

0.09 

0.21 
0.35 

0.80 
1  20 
2  50 

77 

23 

0 

27 

73 

0 

11 

31 
56 

89 

69 
44 

0 

0 
0 

10 

23 
50 

100 
92 

77 

90 

77 
50 

0 
0 
0 

0 

0 
0 

0 
8 
23 

Quenched  above  Ar2. 

Martensite. 

Ferrite. 

Cenientite. 

100 
100 

0 
0 

0 

0 

Quenched  above  Art. 

Martensite. 

Ferrite. 

Cementite. 

100 
94 

80 

0 
0 
0 

0 
6 
20 

pearlite  respectively.  No.  6  is  a  steel  containing  .67  per  cent,  of 
carbon,  the  appearance  of  which  is  similar  to  No.  3,  but  there  is 
really  quite  a  difference,  in  that  there  is  not  a  sufficient  amount  of 
carbon  to  form  the  eutectic  alloy.  Consequently  there  is  an  excess 
of  ferrite  and  this  forms  the  walls,  whereas  when  the  carbon  ex- 


HEAT   TREATMENT.  301 

ceeds  .89  per  cent,  there  is  an  excess  of  cementite,  which  therefore 
forms  the  walls.  Nos.  7  and  8  contain  very  little  carbon,  No.  8  being 
especially  soft,  showing  almost  no  pearlite. 

Index  of  Micro-Photographs,  Figs.  XV-B  to  G. 

Magnification. 
No.  Diameteri. 

1  Austenite    you 

2  Martensite. 175 

3  Pearlite  with  cementite  walls  C=1.39 75 

4  Lamellar  pearlite 900 

5  Granular  pearlite   900 

6  Pearlite  with  ferrite  walls  C=0.67 75 

7  Mild  steel  C=0.20  showing  ferrite  and  pearlite 75 

8  Ferrite  C=0.03    75 

9  Cold  worked  steel  showing  lines  of  flow  and  in  center  actual  rupture  30 

10  Nickel  steel  roll,  fracture  in  relief 1 

11  Same  steel  as  No.  10,  polished  and  etched 50 

12  Nickel  steel  roll  shown  in  No.  10,  annealed  at  800°  C 50 

13  Small  piece  of  same  nickel  steel  roll  annealed  three  times  at  850°, 

800°,  750°  C 50 

14  Special   high   carbon   steel,   unannealed 50 

15  Special  high  carbon  steel,  annealed 50 

16  Carbon  steel  casting,  unannealed 20 

17  Same  steel  as  No.  16,  annealed 50 

18  Same  steel  as  No.  16,  annealed  twice 50 

19  75-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head ;  broken  in  service 46 

20  75-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head  ;  broken  in  service 46 

21  85-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head;  broken  on  drop  test 46 

22  100-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head ;  finished  at  1000°  C 46 

23  85-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head ;  "hot  rolled" 46 

This  rail  was  one  of  two  from  the  same  Ingot  rolled  under  different 

conditions.     See  Section  XVe,  Par.  1  and  2. 

24  85-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head;  "cold  rolled."     See  No.  23 46 

25  107-lb.  girder  rail.  Sec.  228,  P.  S.  Co 44 

26  107-lb.  girder  rail,  Sec.  228,  P.  S.  Co 46 

27  90-lb.  girder  rail,  Sec.  200,  P.  S.  Co 46 

28  90-lb.  girder  rail,  Sec.  200,  P.  S.  Co 46 

29  70-lb.  T  rail,  Sec.  237,  P.  S.  Co.,  center  of  head 46 

30  70-lb.  T  rail,  Sec.  237,  near  surface 46 

31  M.  S.  Co.  100-lb.  T  rail,  center  of  head 46 

32  M.   S.  Co.   100-lb.   T  rail,  near  surface 46 

33  M.  S.  Co.  85-lb  T  rail,  near  surface 46 

34  M.  S.  Co.  85-lb.  T  rail,  "hot  rolled."     See  No.  23 46 

35  M.  S.  Co.  85-lb.  T  rail,  near  surface,  "cold  rolled."     See  No.  23. .  46 

36  Bessemer  steel,  C=0.45.     Finished  at  490°  to  show  effect  of  cold 

rolling    50 

37  Ingot  structure,  C=0.06 20 

38  Center  of  1"  round,  C=0.06 75 

39  Near  surface  of  same  piece  as  No.  38,  showing  loss  of  carbon  by 

heating    75 

40  Ingot  structure,  C=0.47 20 

41  Bloom  8"x8",  rolled  from  32"x38"  ingot ;  C=.40 75 

42  Billet  2"x2"  hammered  from  bloom  shown  in  No.  41 75 

43  Section  of  a  finished  angle 75 

44  Ingot  structure,  C=1.00 20 

45  1  *  round  rolled  from  ingot  shown  in  No.  44 50 


302  METALLUEGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

SEC.  XVk. — Effect  of  work  on  the  structure  of  soft  steel  and) 
forging  steel. — Steel  as  usually  cast,  cooling  slowly  from  the  liquid 
state  with  no  work  done  upon  it,  forms  in  crystals  and  shows  in 
general  the  same  structure  throughout.  The  outer  skin  has  a 
structure  different  from  the  rest  of  the  mass,  as  it  cools  quickly  and 
is  under  heavy  strains  as  long  as  any  of  the  metal  is  hot,  and  there 
is  also  an  area  of  abnormal  crystallization  at  the  top  of  the  ingot 
due  to  segregation,  hut  the  greater  part  of  an  ingot  is  of  the  same 
general  crystalline  character.  Rolling  tends  to  break  up  this  grain 
and  prevent  further  growth  during  the  process,  but  immediately 
after  cessation  of  work  the  formation  of  grains  begins  and  con- 
tinues until  the  metal  has  cooled  to  the  lower  critical  point.  Hence 
it  is  evident  that  the  lower  the  temperature  to  which  steel  is 
worked  the  more  broken  up  the  structure  will  be,  but  on  the  other 
hand  if  the  rolling  be  continued  below  the  critical  point,  the  effect 
of  cold  work  will  be  shown  and  strains  will  be  set  up  which  will 
make  the  piece  unfit  for  use  without  annealing.  Consequently  it 
is  necessary  to  stop  the  work  somewhat  above  the  critical  point  and 
in  practice  with  large  pieces  it  is  customary  to  finish  some  150°  C. 
to  200°  C.  above  this  point,  since  the  metal  becomes  so  stiff  at  the 
lower  temperature  that  the  wear  and  tear  on  the  rolls  is  excessive. 

In  blooms,  billets  and  such  hard  steels  as  are  to  be  reheated  for 
hardening,  the  need  of  an  extremely  low  finishing  temperature  is 
not  so  evident.  If  the  grain  be  reasonably  fine,  the  metal  is  solid 
and  dense,  and  the  crystallization  of  the  steel  when  put  in  service 
will  be  determined  by  the  final  heat  treatment.  This  will  be  taken 
up  more  in  detail  in  Section  XVm.  It  would  appear  that  the 
smaller  the  piece  the  finer  the  grain,  and  this  arises  partly  from 
the  necessity  of  finishing  a  large  piece  while  the  center  is  still  hot 
and  partly  from  the  slower  rate  of  cooling  of  the  large  piece.  In 
No.  37,  Fig.  XV-Gr,  is  shown  the  micro-structure  of  a  low-carbon 
ingot  magnified  20  diameters  and  in  Nos.  38  and  39  the  same 
grade  of  steel  rolled  into  V  rounds  and  magnified  75  diameters. 
These  last  two  are  the  center  and  outside  respectively  of  the  same 
piece  and  show  the  effect  of  a  high  temperature  in  burning  the 
carbon  of  the  steel  near  the  surface.  The  dark  element  in  No.  38 
is  pearlite,  the  light  is  ferrite.  It  will  be  noticed  that  very  little 
pearlite  is  shown  in  No.  39.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  ex- 
planation in  Section  XVm,  where  it  is  shown  that  if  the  carbon 
were  partly  burned  away  it  would  leave  just  so  much  less  cementite 


HEAT    TREATMENT.  303 

to  mix  with  the  ferrite  to  form  pearlite,  and  consequently  leave 
more  ferrite  free.  In  No.  40  is  shown  the  structure  of  an  ingot 
containing  0.47  per  cent,  of  carbon  magnified  20  diameters.  No. 
41  gives  the  structure  of  an  8"  bloom  rolled  from  a  32"x38"  ingot, 
and  No.  42  a  test  from  the  same  bloom  hammered  to  a  piece  2" 
square.  These  last  two  are  magnified  75  diameters,  and  it  should 
be  noted  that  the  areas  of  the  ingot  structure  shown  in  the  photo- 
graphs are  to  the  areas  of  the  finished  pieces  as  one  to  fourteen. 

Figs.  44  and  45  show  the  structure  of  a  steel  containing  about 
one  per  cent,  of  carbon  before  and  after  rolling,  the  first  being  a 
section  from  a  16"x20"  ingot,  the  latter  a  section  from  a  piece  1"  in 
diameter  cooled  on  the  hot  bed.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  grain  is 
well  broken  up  without  any  sign  of  cold  work,  and  the  bar  is  con- 
sequently in  very  good  condition  for  the  hardening  and  tempering 
co  which  such  hard  steels  are  usually  subjected.  This  bar  was 
taken  at  random  from  the  hot  bed  at  Steelton. 

If  steel  is  worked  below  the  critical  point,  strains  are  developed 
which  injure  the  metal  and  may  even  rupture  it.  In  No.  9,  Fig. 
XV-B,  is  shown  a  piece  of  forging  steel  magnified  30  diameters. 
This  illustrates  the  distortion  of  cold  work,  and  the  black  line  in 
the  middle  of  the  print  is  a  crack  where  the  tension  became  greater 
than  the  cohesion  of  the  metal. 

SEC.  XVI. — Effect  of  work  upon  the  structure  of  rails. — Nos.  19 
and  20,  in  Fig.  XV-D,  show  the  micro-structure  of  two  rails  which 
broke  in  service.  No  data  are  available  as  to  how  long  they  had 
been  in  use,  but  it  is  probable  that  it  was  only  a  short  time.  No.  21 
is  an  85-lb.  T  rail,  which  broke  under  the  drop  test.  These  three 
fractures,  as  well  as  all  the  other  photographs,  are  selected  not  as 
exceptional,  but  as  representative  of  what  will  usually  be  found  un- 
der similar  conditions.  Fig.  22  is  made  from  a  heavy  rail  section 
finished  at  a  temperature  of  1000°  C.,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  its 
appearance  is  almost  if  not  quite  the  same  as  that  of  Nos.  19,  20 
and  21.  In  Nos.  23,  24,  34  and  35  are  shown  the  results  of  some 
experiments  performed  by  Mr.  S.  S.  Martin  at  the  works  of  the 
Maryland  Steel  Company  at  Sparrow's  Point.  An  ingot  was  rolled 
into  blooms  and  two  adjacent  blooms  were  rolled  into  rails  without 
further  heating,  the  first  being  held  before  rolling  in  order  to  allow 
it  to  cool  so  that  all  work  should  be  done  at  as  low  a  temperature 
as  possible,  without,  of  course,  reaching  the  lower  critical  point, 
while  the  second  was  rolled  as  quickly  as  possible  through  all  the 


304  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

passes  except  the  last,  but  was  then  held  at  the  finishing  pass 
minutes,  the  result  being  that  both  pieces  went  through  the  finish- 
ing pass  at  the  same  temperature,  which  was  about  750°  C.  I 
will  designate  as  the  "hot-rolled  rail"  the  one  which  was  rolled 
rapidly,  but  which  was  cooled  down  just  before  the  finishing  pass, 
and  as  the  "cold-rolled  rail"  the  one  which  was  rolled  a\,  a  lower 
temperature  during  the  whole  operation. 

No.  34  represents  the  micro-structure  of  a  portion  of  the  hot 
rolled  rail  at  a  place  very  near  the  surface  and  No.  35  the  structure 
of  the  cold-rolle'd  rail  at  a  similar  place.  It  is  evident  that  a 
superficial  examination  of  photographs,  without  any  knowledge  of 
certain  fundamental  conditions.,  might  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  two  methods  of  rolling  gave  identical  results,  but  the  testimony 
of  Nos.  23  and  24  proves  quite  the  opposite.  No.  23  is  from  the 
center  of  the  head  .of  the  hot-rolled  rail  and  No.  24  from  the  center 
of  the  cold-rolled  rail,  and  it  is  ciear  that  there  is  a  radical  and 
fundamental  difference  in  the  results,  the  reason  for  which  is  per- 
fectly clear. 

The  finishing  pass  in  almost  every  set  of  rolls  does  very  little 
work,  for  it  is  unusual  to  have  over  ten  per  cent,  of  reduction  upon 
the  piece,  oftentimes  there  being  much  less,  while  in  all  other  passes, 
save  one  regulating  the  height,  it  is  usual  to  have  from  twice  to 
three  times  as  much.  Consequently  the  effect  of  the  last  pass  does 
not  penetrate  to  any  great  depth.  Such  a  penetration  is  necessary 
if  the  grain  is  to  be  broken  up,  for  the  head  of  a  heavy  rail  offers  a 
thicker  mass  of  metal  than  is  found  in  almost  any  other  structural 
shape,  and  the  very  fact  that  it  is  considered  necessary  to  hold  a 
rail  before  finishing  proves  that  the  grain  needs  to  be  broken.  If 
the  rail  is  at  a  sufficiently  low  temperature  the  grain  will  not  grow 
coarser  as  the  rail  stands,  and  the  rail  might  as  well  be  finished  at 
once;  but  if  it  is  at  a  high  temperature  and  the  grain  is  coarse, 
then  it  will  do  no  good  to  hold  it  before  the  last  pass,  or  to  shower 
it  with  water,  for  this  will  merely  perpetuate  the  coarse  crystalliza- 
tion that  exists.  The  holding  of  the  rail  therefore  before  the  last 
pass  is  a  delusion ;  it  gives  a  lower  finishing  temperature  and  a  low 
shrinkage,  and  it  renders  possible  a  very  nice  looking  photograph 
from  a  piece  of  the  outside  skin,  but  it  does  not  give  any  of  the 
fundamental  good  qualities  which  should  accompany  such  a  finish- 
ing temperature,  and  which  will  accompany  it  if  the  temperature  of 
the  finishing  pass  is  a  true  exponent  of  the  rolling  conditions.  The 


HEAT   TREATMENT.  305 

attempt  to  estimate  the  structure  of  the  rail  from  the  amount  of 
shrinkage  is  simply  putting  the  cart  before  the  horse;  it  is  much 
like  the  practice  in  vogue  a  few  years  ago  of  rolling  octagon  spring 
steel  and  then  defacing  the  bar  by  hitting  it  with  a  hammer  to 
make  it  resemble  the  bars  turned  out  by  the  tilting  hammer.  This 
tilting  consisted  in  a  rapid  succession  of  blows  continued  during 
the  cooling  of  the  piece  until  a  very  low  temperature  was  reached, 
and  by  this  means  the  crystalline  structure  was  rendered  very  fine 
and  the  steel  was  in  the  very  best  condition.  The  rolls  did  not 
finish  the  bar  as  cold,  nor  did  the  effect  of  rolling  penetrate  as 
thoroughly  as  the  blow  of  the  hammer,  and  this  lack  could  hardly 
be  atoned  for  by  duplicating  an  incidental  accompanying  condi- 
tion. 

There  will  always  be  some  difference  between  the  structure  of  the 
center  of  the  head  of  the  rail  and  the  portion  near  the  surface,  but 
if  the  rail  is  rolled  at  a  proper  temperature  during  the  passes  when 
considerable  work  is  put  upon  the  piece,  this  difference  will  not 
be  serious.  No.  25,  in  Fig.  XV-E,  shows  the  center  of  the  head 
of  a  girder  or  tram  rail  weighing  107  pounds  per  yard,  and  No.  26 
shows  the  surface  of  the  head.  No.  27  shows  the  center  of  the 
head  of  a  90-pound  girder  rail  and  No.  28  the  surface.  No.  29  is 
the  center  of  a  70-pound  T  rail  and  No.  30  the  surface.  All  these 
were  rolled  at  Steelton  on  regular  orders  and  it  will  be  noted  that 
while  there  is  a  difference,  the  structure  of  the  center  is  very  good. 

Fig.  XY-F  shows  the  structure  of  T  rails  rolled  at  Sparrow's 
Point  at  the  works  of  the  Maryland  Steel  Company  and  represents 
the  best  modern  practice.  No.  31  is  the  center  of  a  100-pound  T 
rail  and  No.  32  the  surface;  No.  33  the  center  of  an  85-pound  T 
rails,these  structures  representing  the  regular  practice  at  the  works. 
Nos.  34  and  35  have  already  been  discussed  as  hot-rolled  and  cold- 
rolled  rails.  No.  36  represents  the  structure  of  a  small  test  bar  of 
rail  steel  which  was  rolled  for  the  purpose  of  this  experiment  as 
cold  as  the  strength  of  the  rolls  would  allow,  the  finishing  tem- 
perature being  490°  C.  (915°  F.),  which  is  considerably  below  the 
critical  point,  as  shown  by  the  lines  of  work  appearing  in  the  photo- 
graph. This  evidently  is  the  finest  structure  obtainable,  and  it  may 
be  used  as  a  standard  by  which  to  estimate  the  condition  of  the 
other  pieces.  All  the  photographs  in  this  rail  steel  series  are  cross- 
sections  that  are  magnified  forty-six  diameters. 

SEC.  XVm. — Effect  of  heat  treatment  upon  the  structure  of  cast- 


306  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

ings. — It  has  been  proven  by  many  investigators  and  is  generally 
acknowledged  that  in  heating  steel  through  the  lowest  critical  point 
the  crystalline  structure  is  obliterated,  the  metal  assuming  the 
finest  condition  of  which  it  is  capable.  Above  this  point  the  size 
of  the  grain  increases  with  the  temperature.  There  is  a  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  whether  the  increase  in  size  takes  place  during 
the  heating  or  at  the  moment  when  cooling  begins,  but  it  is  un- 
necessary to  determine  this  question,  the  general  proposition  being 
true  that  the  higher  a  piece  of  steel  is  heated  above  this  point  the 
larger  the  grain  becomes. 

At  the  corresponding  point  in  cooling,  the  structure  ceases  to> 
change,  except  in  very  soft  steel,  as  shown  by  Stead,  and  any  size 
of  grain  is  retained  and  cannot  be  changed  by  heat  treatment  below 
this  point.  There  is,  however,  a  change  from  hardening  to  cement 
carbon,  which  may  take  place  at  comparatively  low  temperatures. 
This  is  the  principle  on  which  the  tempering  of  steel  is  founded, 
quite  a  definite  amount  being  changed  at  temperatures  which  are 
represented  approximately  by  the  color  of  the  bar.  Cement  carbon 
is  that  form  which  confers  the  softest  possible  condition  and  great- 
est ductility,  while  hardening  carbon  gives  the  condition  of  greatest 
hardness.  Hence  the  temper  is  drawn  by  every  rise  in  tempera- 
ture. 

At  the  lowest  critical  point  the  change  from  cement  to  hardening 
carbon  takes  place  almost  instantly,  all  carbon  above  this  tempera- 
ture being  of  the  hardening  variety,  but  the  reverse  change  in  cool- 
ing appears  to  require  a  certain  length  of  time.  This  is  the  ex- 
planation of  hardening  by  quenching,  the  more  rapidly  the  steel  is 
cooled  through  this  point,  the  less  being  the  chance  of  the  carbon 
to  change  its  state.  A  sudden  cooling  in  ice  water  prevents 
any  change,  while  annealing  is  effective  only  in  proportion 
as  the  time  of  exposure  to  this  temperature  was  long  or  short. 
Since  fine  structure  and  cement  carbon  are  the  principal  factors  of 
toughness  and  ductility,  both  of  which  are  the  aim  in  annealing,  it 
would  seem  that  the  best  method  of  tempering  would  be  to  heat  to 
the  lowest  critical  point  and  not  higher,  and  quench  from  this  heat 
and  subsequently  draw  the  temper.  Similarly  the  best  way  of  an- 
nealing, since  the  reverse  change  takes  place  several  degrees  below 
this,  would  be  to  cool  at  once  to  just  above  this  lower  point  and 
allow  several  hours  for  the  metal  to  cool  past  the  critical  tempera- 


HEAT   TREATMENT.  307 

ture,  and  long  enough  from  this  point  to  the  cold  state  to  prevent 
the  setting  up  of  strains  from  too  rapid  cooling. 

Practically,  however,  it  seems  to  be  necessary  to  heat  consider- 
ably above  the  lowest  critical  temperature  in  order  to  insure  the 
thorough  breaking  up  of  the  cell  walls  to  allow  the  enveloping  form 
to  permeate  the  grain.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  changes 
by  which  ferrite  is  formed  attain  their  maximum  effect  only  when 
the  metal  is  subjected  to  a  range  of  temperature  which  includes  the 
three  critical  points.  When  steel  cools  slowly  a  certain  amount  of 
ferrite  forms  at  the  upper  point,  Ar3,  an  additional  amount  at  the 
second  point,  Ar2,  while  the  principal  change  occurs  at  the  lowest 
point,  Arv  Thus  if  the  metal  be  considered  as  a  solid  solution,  it 
may  be  said  that  crystallization  takes  place  at  the  upper  point,  the 
solution  of  martensite  becoming  more  concentrated.  When  the 
steel  is  heated,  as  in  the  case  of  annealing,  the  reverse  phenomenon 
takes  place,  for  at  the  lowest  point  the  grain  is  broken  up,  the  pearl- 
ite  becoming  martensite,  somewhat  diluted  by  the  portion  of  ferrite 
which  it  takes  up.  If  now  the  piece  be  cooled  slowly  without 
further  heating,  the  resulting  structure  will  be  quite  different  from 
the  original.  The  size  of  the  grains  will  be  much  smaller  and  the 
piece  will  therefore  be  in  much  better  physical  condition,  but  there 
will  still  remain  room  for  improvement,  for  throughout  the  mass 
will  be  found  a  certain  proportion  of  ferrite,  corresponding  to  the 
amount  which,  as  already  explained,  is  transformed  at  the  higher 
temperatures  of  Ar2  and  Ar3. 

In  order  therefore  to  thoroughly  disseminate  the  ferrite  and 
encourage  to  the  greatest  extent  the  formation  of  martensite,  it  is 
necessary  to  heat  to  the  upper  critical  point  Ac3.  This  high  tem- 
perature, however,  gives  rise  to  a  somewhat  larger  grain  than  if  the 
lower  critical  point,  Acj,  had  not  been  exceeded,  so  that  while  there 
is  a  gain  in  the  extent  of  the  transformation,  the  grain  of  the 
resulting  steel  is  coarser  and  there  is  consequently  a  loss  in  strength. 
The  best  result  is  obtained  by  combining  the  two  methods,  the  steel 
being  first  heated  to  the  upper  critical  point,  Ac3,  and  allowed  to 
cool  slowly,  by  which  complete  transformation  is  effected,  and  then 
reheated  just  above  the  lower  critical  point,  Ac1?  by  which  the  grain 
is  rendered  fine  and  all  strains  obliterated.  In  case  two  heatings 
are  out  of  the  question,  it  is  generally  better  to  heat  to  the  upper 
critical  point,  as  it  is  preferable  to  have  a  slightly  larger  grain 
with  a  fine  division  of  the  microscopic  forms,  than  to  have  a  piece 


308  METALLURGY  OF  IRON"  AND  STEEL. 

of  metal  of  somewhat  finer  grain  but  much  less  homogeneous.  Con- 
siderable care  must  be  exercised  in  heating  pieces  which  are  not  to 
be  machined  after  treatment,  since  at  a  high  temperature  the  carbon 
near  the  surface  of  steel  is  burned  out  to  an  appreciable  depth  by 
the  action  of  the  flame,  unless  the  metal  is  protected  in  some  way 
from  oxidation.  An  effect  of  this  kind  may  be  noticed  under  the 
microscope  with  little  difficulty.  If  the  carbon  has  been  driven  off 
it  follows  that  there  is  less  cementite  left  to  combine  with  ferrite 
to  form  pearlite  when  the  metal  is  cooling  through  the  critical  point. 
Consequently  there  will  be  less  pearlite  formed  in  the  oxidized  sur- 
face than  in  the  remainder  of  the  piece.  This  effect  is  shown  in 
Nos.  38  and  39,  these  being  the  center  and  the  outside  respectively 
of  a  soft  steel  bar. 

In  No.  11,  Fig.  XV-C,  is  shown  a  large  pearlite  grain  surrounded 
by  a  thick  wall  of  ferrite.  This  represents  the  micro-structure  of  a 
28-inch  steel  roll  casting  containing  .25  per  cent,  carbon  and  3.5 
per  cent,  nickel,  which  was  put  in  service  unannealed  and  broke 
within  a  few  hours.  In  No.  10  is  shown  the  fracture  in  natural 
size,  and  the  photograph  was  made  from  the  broken  specimen  with- 
out any  polishing  or  other  treatment.  It  is  a  striking  illustration 
of  intergranular  weakness,  the  lines  of  rupture  following  almost 
entirely  the  ferrite  envelope  and  leaving  the  individual  grains  in- 
tact. No.  12  shows  the  micro-structure  of  this  broken  roll  after 
one  annealing  at  800°,  and  notwithstanding  the  exceedingly  coarse 
structure  of  the  original  casting  the  annealed  micro-structure  is 
quite  fine  and  shows  a  grain  outline  very  much  broken  up.  It  is 
probable  that  a  second  annealing  would  have  almost  obliterated  the 
crystallization,  and  it  would  have  been  interesting  to  carry  this  on 
for  several  more  heat  treatments^  but  as  this  was  impracticable  a 
piece  was  cut  off  and  heated  successively  to  850°,  800°  and  750° 
Centigrade  and  allowed  to  cool  slowly  with  a  complete  destruction 
of  crystallization  as  shown  in  No.  13. 

It  should  be  noted  that  No.  11  and  No.  12  are  results  obtained 
with  full  size  pieces,  and  not  with  small  tests,  as  is  too  often  the 
case,  under  which  circumstances  the  results  are  not  always  com- 
parable with  the  effect  on  a  large  piece.  The  two  pieces  were  taken 
from  the  same  relative  positions  and  represent,  it  is  believed,  the 
structure  of  the  roll.  The  casting  conditions,  so  far  as  could  be 
determined,  were  normal.  The  annealing  was  effected  at  800°  C. 
as  registered  by  the  pyrometer,  it  being  necessary  to  consider  that 


HEAT    TREATMENT.  309 

this  does  not  always  represent  the  temperature  exactly  unless  the 
"invisible"  condition  is  obtained. 

No.  16  represents  the  micro-structure  of  a  steel  casting  unan- 
nealed,  magnified  20  diameters.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  structure  in  a  small  photograph,  but  the  illustration 
shows  parts  of  three  grains,  and  like  all  the  other  reproductions,  is 
typical.  No.  17  shows  the  same  casting  after  annealing.  The 
picture  is  not  all  it  should  be,  but  by  careful  examination  a  re- 
markably small  grain  may  be  distinguished;  the  areas  of  pearlite 
and  ferrite  are  indicative  of  an  insufficient  breaking  up  of  the 
microscopic  forms.  No.  18  represents  the  casting  after  a  second 
annealing.  No.  14  and  No.  15  show  the  structure  before  and  after 
annealing  of  a  special  high  carbon  casting  used  in  railroad  work 
vhere  ability  to  withstand  shock  is  of  prime  importance. 

'  As  stated  in  Section  XVi,  the  second  critical  point  is  character- 
ized by  a  loss  of  the  magnetic  properties  in  heating;  this  point  is 
yery  easily  determined  by  using  an  electro  magnet,  the  wires  of 
which  are  connected  with  a  sensitive  galvanometer.  The  act  of 
moving  the  magnet  into  and  away  from  contact  with  the  metal 
moves  the  needle  of  the  galvanometer  as  long  as  the  metal  is  mag- 
netic. It  would  seem  as  if  this  should  be  a  good  point  to  agree 
upon  as  the  temperature  to  which  castings  shall  be  heated  for  an- 
nealing. Sufficient  data  are  not  available  to  state  positively  that 
such  treatment  would  give  the  best  results  possible,  but  it  seems 
quite  certain  that  treatment  on  this  line  would  give  good  structure 
and  be  a  great  improvement  on  most  of  the  haphazard  methods  now 
in  use. 

SEC.  XVn. — Effect  of  heat  treatment  on  the  structure  of  rolled 
material. — In  order  to  determine  the  effect  of  heat  treatment  on 
the  structure  of  rolled  material,  tests  were  taken  from  finished 
angles,  the  general  method  of  procedure  being  as  follows : 

A  piece  five  feet  long  was  sheared  from  the  angle  and  cut  into 
five  equal  lengths.  An  ordinary  test  bar  was  taken  from  one  of 
the  legs  of  each  piece  in  the  same  relative  place  and  numbered  from 
1  to  5.  From  each  of  the  extremes  1  and  5  a  section  was  cut  for 
the  microscope  and  the  bars  pulled  in  the  testing  machine  to  prove 
that  the  piece  was  homogeneous.  The  bars,  2,  3  and  4,  were  treated 
in  a  muffle  heated  by  an  electric  coil  at  temperatures  varying  from 
625°  C.  to  890°  C.,  the  temperature  in  all  experiments  being  taken 
by  a  Le  Chatelier  pyrometer.  No  attempt  was  made  to  heat 


310  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

the  pieces  quickly,  as  it  was  intended  to  work  under  normal  con- 
ditions,  the  operation  usually  occupying  from  one  to  three  hours. 
The  bars  were  held  at  the  high  temperature  only  long  enough  to- 
insure  uniform  heating  and  then  cooled  for  several  hours  to  about 
350°  C.  A  longer  annealing  would  probably  have  given  slightly 
different  physical  results  on  account  of  the  more  nearly  perfect 
elimination  of  strains  and  transformation  to  cement  carbon,  but 
the  difference  would  have  been  slight,  and  as  the  object  was  to 
determine  the  effect  of  heat  on  the  structure  it  was  unnecessary  to* 
consider  this  phase  of  the  problem. 

Small  sections  were  cut  from  the  treated  pieces,  as  well  as  from 
the  untreated,  and  were  polished  and  etched.  They  were  invari- 
ably taken  from  the  same  relative  position  and  etched  on  the  surface- 
representing  the  cross  section  of  the  angle.  A  great  majority  of 
these  specimens  when  examined  under  the  microscope  showed  well 
defined  structures  similar  to  those  exhibited  in  Nos.  8  and  43.  The 
orientation  was  apparently  the  same  in  both  the  treated  and  the 
untreated  bars,  and  the  size  of  the  grains  did  not  appear  to  be 
affected  by  the  treatment,  although  bars  from  different  heats  showed 
considerable  variation.  It  would  therefore  seem  probable  that  a& 
finely  divided  a  grain  can  be  produced  by  rolling  as  by  any  of  the 
usual  annealing  processes,  although  there  is  room  for  further  in- 
vestigation on  this  point. 

SEC.  XVo. — Theories  regarding  the  structure  of  steel. — There 
are  several  theories  no.w  before  the  scientific  world  to  account  for 
the  hardening  and  the  magnetic  transformations  in  steel  and  the 
phenomena  of  the  so-called  critical  points.  It  would  be  better  per- 
haps to  call  them  hypotheses,  as  they  are  in  each  case  offered  tenta- 
tively and  as  lines  of  thought  on  which  to  base  experimental  re- 
search. It  is  beyond  the  province  of  this  book  to  enter  into  a  full 
discussion  of  these  various  conceptions,  but  it  may  be  well  to  give 
a  brief  summary  of  the  most  prominent. 

The  carbon  theory  considers  that  the  effect  of  hardening  is  due 
entirely  to  a  change  in  the  carbon  contained  in  the  steel.  In  com- 
mon with  the  other  theories,  it  supposes  that  at  temperatures  below 
.the  critical  point  the  carbon  is  in  the  state  of  cement  carbon,  com- 
bined with  iron  in  the  proportion  Fe3C.  At  the  lower  critical  point 
a  change  in  carbon  is  supposed  to  occur,  and  since  from  tempera- 
tures above  this  point  carbon  steels  are  hardened  by  sudden  cool- 
ing, the  advocates  of  this  theory  have  devised  the  name  "hardening 


HEAT    TREATMENT.  311 

carbon/'  The  cause  of  evolution  of  heat  at  this  point  in  cooling 
is  considered  to  be  the  change  from  hardening  to  cement  carbon, 
but  no  satisfactory  explanation  is  given  by  this  theory  for  the 
changes  at  the  second  and  third  critical  points. 

The  allotropic  theory  holds  that  the  iron  of  the  steel  is  in  differ- 
ent allotropic  forms  between  the  different  critical  points,  and  that 
below  the  second  critical  point  the  iron  exists  as  alpha  iron,  but 
at  this  point  beta  iron  is  formed,  and  at  the  upper  gamma,  the 
carbon  being  diffused  in  the  iron.  The  cause  of  the  evolution  of 
heat  is  explained  by  the  change  from  gamma  to  beta  iron  at  Ar3, 
from  beta  to  alpha  at  Ar2,  while  at  Arx  the  carbon  combines  with 
alpha  iron  to  form  Fe3C.  The  retention  of  a  hard  allotropic  state 
of  iron,  this  retention  being  helped  by  the  presence  of  carbon,  is 
considered  to  be  the  cause  of  hardening.. 

The  carbo-allotropic  theory  is  similar  to  the  allotropic  theory, 
except  that  hardening  is  supposed  to  be  due  to  the  retention  by  sud- 
den cooling  of  a  hard  carbide  of  iron. 

The  Phase  Doctrine.  Prof.  Bakhuis-Roozeboom  explains*  the 
detail  of  the  Phase  Doctrine,  a  phase  being  denned  as  a  mass  chem- 
ically or  physically  homogeneous,  or  as  a  mass  of  uniform  concen- 
tration. Thus  he  states  that  a  phase  may  be  liquid  or  solid,  may 
be  an  element  or  a  compound,  or  a  homogeneous  mixture  of  vari- 
able concentration.  Carbon,  alpha,  beta  and  gamma  iron,  liquid 
solutions,  solid  solutions  of  carbon  in  gamma  iron  or  martensite, 
cementite  and  ferrite  are  all  phases,  while  pearlite  is  a  conglomer- 
ate of  phases.  He  gives  a  diagram  shown  in  Fig.  XV-H,  which  is 
intended  to  show  the  critical  changes  of  alloys  of  iron  and  carbon 
containing  different  percentages  of  carbon  at  different  temperatures. 

From  this  it  may  be  seen  that  the  area,  PSTN,  represents  the 
structure  of  slowly  cooled  steels  containing  less  than  .89  per  cent, 
of  carbon,  and  SKLT  the  structure  of  high  carbon  steels  cooled 
slowly.  MOSP  is  the  region  between  Ax  and  A2,  showing  alpha 
iron,  while  GOM  is  that  between  A2  and  A3,  beta  iron.  Above  GOS, 
which  is  the  line  A3  in  Fig.  XY-A,  the  iron  is  in  the  phase  gamma, 
the  micro-structure  being  100%  martensite.  As  shown  by  the 
curve,  SE,  the  higher  the  carbon  in  the  steel  the  higher  the  heat 
needed  to  prevent  the  separation  of  cementite.  Thus  m  in  a  1.00 
C  steel  is  the  temperature  necessary  to  hold  in  solution  the  excess 

*Zeitschrift  fur  Physikalische  Chemie,  Vol.  XXXIV,  1900.  1.  and  S.  Inst., 
September,  1900. 


313 


METALLURGY  -OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


of  cementite.  At  about  1050°  C.,  however,  cementite  as  such  dis- 
appears even  in  high  carbon  steels  and  the  carbon  is  considered  as 
being  in  solution  in  gamma  iron.  This  is  the  point  above  which 
it  is  necessary  to  heat  in  order  to  obtain  austenite,  from  which  it  is 
argued  that  austenite  is  carbon  dissolved  in  gamma  iron. 


IOUU 

1500° 
1400° 
1300° 
1200C 
1100° 
1000° 
900° 
800° 
700° 
600° 

^S 

Vv 

Ca 

r"bon  1 

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it 

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4 

s 

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Pearlite 

N 

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FIG.  XV-H. — GRAPHICAL  EEPRESENTATION  OF  THE  PHASE 
DOCTRINE. 

Martensite  is  considered  as  a  solution  of  Fe3C  in  allot ropic  iron, 
being  a  saturated  solution  in  steel  containing  about  .89  per  cent, 
carbon. 

Prof.  Arnold  has  disputed  the  allotropic  theory  in  several  articles 
and  has  evolved  an  hypothesis  of  his  own  which  he  calls  the  "sub- 
carbide  theory,"  on  the  supposition  that  hardening  is  due  to  the 
retention  of  a  hard  sub-carbide  of  iron  Fe24C. 

These  theories  will  be  found  thoroughly  considered  in  the  vol- 
umes of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  of  the  past  few  years.  Enough 
is  given  here  to  show  the  variety  of  ideas,  all  of  which  have  their 
strong  and  their  weak  points. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE    HISTORY   AND    SHAPE    OF   THE    TEST-PIECE. 

SECTION  XVIa. — Differences  between  the  surface  and  the  in- 
terior.— The  first  question  in  the  inspection  of  steel  is  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  test-piece  shall  be  taken.  In  former  days  it 
was  the  custom  to  plane  or  turn  a  piece  to  a  standard  size,  and 
this  method  is  still  used  in  steel  castings,  for  it  is  impossible  to 
cast  a  bar  of  sufficiently  accurate  section,  and  it  is  also  used  in 
the  case  of  forgings  when  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  carve  a  piece 
from  the  finished  material.  In  other  work  the  test  is  either  a 
part  of  the  finished  bar,  as  in  small  rounds  and  flats,  or  is  cut 
from  the  member,  as  in  angles,  channels,  etc.  A  sufficient  length 
is  taken  to  allow  about  10  inches  between  jaws,  and  the  readings 
are  on  an  8-inch  length  defined  by  marks  of  a  center-punch. 

A  machined  piece  is  generally  inferior  to  a  bar  as  it  leaves  the 
rolls.  In  tests  made  by  the  United  States  Government*  in  1885, 
the  machine  was  not  powerful  enough  to  pull  a  seven-eighth  inch 
round,  so  that  rods  of  this  size  were  turned  down  to  three-quarter 
inch  in  diameter.  The  comparative  results  are  given  in  Table 
XVI-A,  the  figures  in  each  case  representing  the  average  of  14 
heats.  The  pieces  cut  from  the  seven-eighth  inch  bar  are  inferior 

TABLE  XVI-A. 

Properties  of  }-inch  Eounds  in  their  Natural  State,  and  J-inch 
Rounds  of  the  Same  Heats  Turned  Down  to  f-inch. 


Condition  of  bar. 

Ult.  strength  ; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation  in 
8  inches; 
percent. 

Reduction 
of  area; 
per  cent. 

$1  inch  natural.                   

%  inch  turned  to  %  inch,   

65764 
65038 

27.53 
25.80 

42J 
42.0 

Report  of  the  Naval  Advisory  Board;  1885,  pp.  81,  82. 
313 


314 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


to  the  three-quarter  inch  tests,  although  the  larger  bar  should 
give  the  better  elongation.  The  inferiority  is  due  to  the  removal 
of  the  best  part  of  the  piece  in  turning.  This  phenomenon  is 
more  marked  in  larger  sizes,  as  shown  by  Table  XVI-B,  which 
gives  the  results  on  bars  cut  from  forged  bridge-pins. 

TABLE  XVI-B. 
Test-Pieces  }-inch  in  Diameter,  cut  from  Forged  Rounds. 

Size  of  Ingot,  18x20  inches.    Pennsylvania  Steel  Company, 


I 

rfsf 

1 

I 

00 

| 

i 

i 

.~w 

rt 

*M 

••* 

+3    <O 

"3  * 

*d 

O 

i 

Place  from  which  test  was  taken. 

ip   ^ 

•§  a* 

0*3 

i 

h 

§3n 

o'g  • 

0 

is 

5*5 

si 

•3S2 

Ill 

II 

0   tH 

•o  o 

1§ 

§ 

P 

H 

P3 

3 

8  In. 

At  a  depth  of  1  inch  from  outside. 
At  a  depth  of  2  inches  from  outside. 
The  central  axis. 

62720 
58100 
68100 

82870 
29170 
81490 

21.50 
22.25 
20.25 

40.4 
87.5 
84.1 

62.4 
60.2 
64.2 

10  in. 

At  a  depth  of  1  inch  from  outside. 
At  a  depth  of  2^  inches  from  outside. 
The  central  axis. 

66070 
62750 
60900 

87080 
85670 
82140 

19.50 
18.00 
19.50 

33.9 
82.7 
23.8 

56.1 
66.8 
52.8 

Preliminary  test  of  same  heat  from  6  in.  ingot 

63930 

42250 

26.25 

41.7 

66.1 

SEC.  XVIb. — Strips  cut  from  eye-bar  flats. — Similar  differ- 
ences will  be  found  if  test-pieces  be  cut  from  different  parts  of 
eye-bars,  as  illustrated  by  Table  XVI-C.  These  results  display 
considerable  uniformity  in  the  higher  strength  of  the  bars  from  the 
large  ingot,  but  the  number  of  specimens  is  not  sufficient  to  es- 
tablish the  fact.  Such  a  comparison  is  often  invalidated  by  un- 
known factors,  for  if  the  test-bar  be  finished  hot  and  the  "flat'* 
cold,  the  relation  may  be  reversed.  Table  XVI-D  shows  the  com- 
parative results  on  nine  heats  of  steel,  and  will  illustrate  how  the 
preliminary  test  may  differ  from  the  finished  bar  in  individual 
cases,  while  the  average  of  the  two  is  the  same. 

SEC.  XVIc. — Longitudinal  and  transverse  test-pieces  from 
plates. — Differences  may  also  be  found  between  strips  cut  length- 
wise from  a  plate  and  those  cut  crosswise.  Mr.  A.  E.  Hunt  states 
that  "in  plates  up  to  30  inches  wide  there  is,  ordinarily,  a  differ- 
ence of  10  per  cent,  in  tensile  strength,  and  up  to  20  or  25  per 
cent,  in  ductility  in  favor  of  pieces  cut  with  the  grain.  In  wide 


THE   HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


315 


TABLE  XVI-C. 

Test-Pieces  from  Boiled  Flats,  and  from  f-inch  Rounds  of  the 
Same  Heats  Rolled  from  a  14-inch  Square  Ingot. 


1, 1  =  edge  of  bar;  2, 2— 5^-inch  rounds  cut  on  a  machine;  8— center  of  bar;  4— « 
inch  round  rolled  from  an  ingot. 


ft 

5    ^ 

00 

i~3 

«J 

• 

S 

amber  of  grou 

Imits  of  ultimi 
strength  in 
group,  of  the  9 
Inch  round  rol 
from  the  ingot 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

1 

lace  from  whi( 
test  was  taken 
see  head  of  tab 

It.  strength 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

lastlo  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

lastlo  ratio; 
per  cent. 

s! 

g^ 

s« 

S5 

§§ 

eduction  of  an 
per  cent. 

m 

d 

fc 

fe 

p 

H 

a 

a 

H 

fviOOO 

1 

57450 

85085 

61.1 

28.50 

61.97 

I1 

2 

57095 

81575 

55.3 

27.87 

64.43' 

60000 

8 

4 

56990 
59463 

83185 
43489 

68.2 
73.1 

25.13 
27.90 

48.89 
68.01 

1 

61586 

86677 

69.6 

26.78 

48.60 

n1 

fcn 

2 

60712 

34572 

56.9 

26.82 

68.22 

ftfsonn 

3 

60370 

84512 

67.2 

26.66 

44!36 

4 

64461 

48872 

68.1 

26.17 

60.67 

Tflftoo 

1 

63816 

88938 

61.2 

26.72 

51.02 

in 

to 

2 

64430 

85940 

65.8 

27.87 

64.48 

7EVVY) 

8 

62955 

87892 

60.2 

26.88 

46.69 

4 

70541 

47045 

66.7 

24^1 

49.98 

plates  the  difference  is  not  as  marked,  on  account  of  the  effect  of 
cross-rolling." 

I  believe  these  differences  will  be  less  in  plates  rolled  from  a 
slab  than  in  those  made  directly  from  an  ingot.  In  any  event, 
plates  can  be  made  by  the  first  method  which  exhibit  practically 
the  same  properties  in  both  directions.  This  will  be  shown,  by 
Table  XVI-E,  which  gives  the  averages  of  100  plates  rolled  from 
Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  slabs.  The  total  number  of  plates 
was  104;  of  these,  one  was  rejected  on  account  of  gauge,  and 
three  on  account  of  tensile  strength.  No  plate  was  thrown  out  for 
deficient  ductility,  although  an  elongation  of  25  per  cent,  in  8 
inches  was  required  in  both  longitudinal  and  transverse  strips, 
both  these  tests  being  made  on  each  separate  plate.  The  thickness 
varied  from  one-half  inch  to  three-quarter  inch,  and  the  width 
from  52  inches  to  87  inches.  The  steel  was  basic  open-hearth, 
•with  an  average  composition  as  follows:  Carbon,  0.17  per  cent; 


316 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XVI-D. 
Comparison  of  Eye-Bar  Flats  with  the  Preliminary  Test. 


i 


w 


Preliminary  test  ;  %-inch  rolled 
round;  natural. 


4b< 

SJ 


:§£ 

!&« 


1-8 

P 


.f 

g* 


H 


Longitudinal  strip  ;  cut  near  edge 
of  eye-bar;  natural. 


rt 


H 


ii 

n 


42220 
41900 
41330 
42440 
41880 
43570 
43210 
41890 
42020 


71820 
66440 
69760 
73640 
74470 
72720 
70240 
68640 
69390 


26.25 
28.25 
25.00 
25.00 
26.25 
24.50 
27.50 
25.00 
28.75 


53.47 
58.96 
52.94 
55.86 
53.87 
54.48 
58.21 
56.09 
57.14 


58.8 
63.1 
59.8 
57.6 
56.2 
59.9 
61.5 
61.0 
60.6 


40710 
41570 
89780 
40880 
41480 
41810 
40370 
41900 
41070 


68830 
71400 
69460 
69400 
72320 
73640 
72060 
76700 
69680 


27.00 
26.25 
25.75 
25.00 
24.50 
23.75 
25.60 
25.75 
27.00 


47.18 
50.08 
44.31 
48.41 
46.78 
86.54 
40.00 
43.76 
44.33 


59.1 
58.2 
67.8 
58.9 
57.4 
56.1 
56.0 
54.6 
689 


Av. 


42278       70791 


26.28 


55.61 


59.7 


41008 


71499 


25.62 


44.60 


57.4 


phosphorus,  0.014  per  cent.;  manganese,  0.37  per  cent.;  sulphur, 
0.027  per  cent. 

SEC.  XVId. — Parallel-sided  and  grooved  tests. — The  United 
States  Treasury  Department  prescribed  the  grooved  test  on  ma- 
rine boiler  steels  up  to  the  year  1895.  The  relation  existing  be- 
tween the  two  different  systems  is  shown  in  Table  XVI-F,  which 
gives  the  results  obtained  by  the  Lukens  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
Coatesville,  Pa.  from  duplicate  strips  cut  side  by  side  from  the 
same  plate. 

SEC.  XVIe. — Effect  of  shoulders  at  the  ends  of  test-pieces. — 
The  flow  of  force,  by  which  the  tensile  tests  on  the  grooved  sec- 
tion are  rendered  almost  worthless,  occurs  also  in  2-inch  test- 
pieces  when  there  are  shoulders  at  each  end.  The  difference  is 

TABLE  XVI-E. 
Longitudinal  and  Transverse  Strips  from  Plates. 

Composition,  per  cent. :  C,  0.17;  P,  .014;  Mn,  0.37;  8,  .027. 


Average  of  100  plates. 

Longitudinal. 

Transverse. 

Ultimate  strength  ;  pounds  per  square  inch   .  . 
Elastic  limit  ;  pounds  per  square  inch  .... 

56960 
33350 

54540 
82260 

Elongation  in  8  inches*  per  cent 

27.46 

27.90 

Reduction  of  area;  percent  

51.07 

60.87 

THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


317 


TABLE  XVI-F. 
Comparison  of  Parallel  and  Grooved   (Marine)    Sections. 


ll 

It! 
I*J 

i* 

Hi 

gc3« 

Average  ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per  square  inch. 

Reduction  of  area. 

SftS 

to 

Grooved. 

.  Parallel. 

Difference. 

Grooved. 

Parallel. 

i 

4 
6 
5 
4 
3 

65600 
62700 
60900 
61300 
60600 

53100 
52800 
51400 
63500 
54100 

12500 
9900 
9500 
7800 
6500 

52.0 
51.4 
und. 
61.7 
60.0 

58.0 
64.5 
63.2 
65.2 
66.5 

less,  but  its  existence  will  be  shown  by  the  following  records.  At 
a  certain  works  it  was  the  custom  to  cut  two  tests  from  one  plate 
of  each  heat  and  pull  one  piece  in  a  section  2  inches  long  and 
1^  inches  wide,  with  shoulders  on  each  end,  while  the  other  piece 
was  pulled  in  a  parallel-sided  section  8  inches  long  and  3  inches 
wide.  Table  XVI-G  gives  the  results.  The  records  show  that  in 
only  71  plates  did  the  2-inch  test  show  less  tensile  strength  than 
the  8-inch,  and  in  half  of  these  cases  the  difference  was  less  than 

TABLE  XVI-G. 

Ultimate   Strength  of  2-inch  Tests  with   Shoulders,   and  8-inch 
Parallel-Sided  Tests. 

All  plates  were  rolled  direct  from  the  ingot  at  one  heat. 


Relation  of  ultimate 
strength  of  2-inoh 
and  8-inch  test- 
pieces. 

Difference  In  ultimate 
strength  between 
2-inch  and  8-inch 
test-pieces:  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

Ultimate  strength; 
50000  to  58000  pounds 
per  square  inch  ; 
below  .04  per  cent, 
phosphorus. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
58000  to  64000  pounds 
per  square  inch  ; 
below  .04  per  cent, 
phosphorus. 

J_ 

84 
11 
10 
7 

6 

~n" 

Xj 

C£ 
a3 

*4 

G£ 
"•".a 

*r 

^4 

0.2 
~3 

*r 

*J 

03 

3 

x* 

9 

af 

«J 

3 

2  inch  gave 
less  strength 
than  the 
8  inch. 

less  than  1000 
bet.  1000  and  2000 
bet.  2000  and  3000 
bet.  3000  and  4000 
bet.  4000  and  5000 
over  5000 

6 
3 
1 
1 

10 
4 
3 

'  *2   ' 

8 
2 

'  'l    ' 

4 
1 
4 

1 
1 

7 
1 
2 
3 

4 
'  "l    ' 

8 

8 

.... 

Total 

11 

19 

6 

14 

16 

5 

2  inch  gave 
more  str'ngth 
than  the 
8  inch. 

less  than  1000 
bet.  1000  and  2000 
bet.  2000  and  3000 
bet.  3000  and  4000 
bet.  4000  and  5000 
over  5000 

23 
23 
15 

5 
2 

28 
86 
15 
13 
5 
15 

4 

4 
3 
5 
2 
2 

2 

8 
8 

'  *1    ' 

7 
16 

8 

2 

2 

4 
6 
4 

*  *1  " 

1 

68 
93 
53 
28 
16 
23 

Total 

72 

112 

20 

22 

88 

17      |281 

318 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


1000  pounds;  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  281  cases  where  the 
2-inch  test  showed  greater  strength,  and  the  differences  are  more 
marked,  the  largest  group  showing  an  increase  of  from  1000  to 
2000  pounds.  It  will  be  shown  by  Table  XVI-L  that  the  width  of 
the  piece  has  little  effect  upon  the  strength,  so  that  these  records 
give  evidence  of  the  reinforcement  of  the  2-inch  test  from  the 
shoulders  at  the  ends. 

SEC.  XVIf. — The  preliminary  test-piece. — Granting  that  the 
test  is  to  be  made  on  a  parallel-sided  piece,  it  has  been  proposed 
that  the  steel  be  tested  by  making  a  trial  bar,  either  round  or  flat, 
rolled  from  a  small  ingot.  It.  is  the  custom  at  Steelton  to  make 

TABLE  XVI-H. 
Comparison  of  Angles,  with  the  Preliminary  Test. 


s 

Jdd 

... 

g 

J 

3*3 

00 

a 

§ 

History  of  test-piece. 

it 

Jjf 

It 

11 

0 

6  «a 

igo 
^ 

II 

|8 

|| 

fc 

H 

B 

8 

n 

Cut  from  Vfe-inch  and  f-lnch  angles  .... 
Rolled  from  6-inch  test  ingot 

89 
89 

41300 
42270 

60190 
60200 

28.89 
2644 

58.0 
424 

Cut  from  /g-inch  and  i-inch  angles  .... 
Boiled  from  6-inch  test  ingot  

46 
46 

40170 
43070 

60660 
61360 

29.05 
25.01 

56.4 
40.0 

Cut  from  ^-inch  and  f-inch  angles  .... 
Boiled  from  6-inch  test  ingot  

87 
87 

89710 
42990 

61520 
62930 

28.96 
28.10 

53.6 
88.2 

such  a  preliminary  test,  but  this  is  done  merely  to  classify  the 
metal.  If  the  bar  is  rolled  under  proper  conditions,  its  ultimate 
strength  represents  the  ultimate  strength  of  the  finished  material, 
and,  without  regard  to  any  results  on  elongation  or  other  quali- 
ties, the  steel  is  used  or  laid  aside,  but  these  records  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  material.  In  other 
words,  this  test  is  our  own  work,  while  the  inspector  is  to  test 
the  material  that  he  buys,  as  fully  as  he  may  wish,  without  regard 
to  whether  a  small  test  ingot  has  or  has  not  fulfilled  certain  re- 
quirements. 

Table  XVI-H  compares  the  data  obtained  from  a  large  number 
of  charges  of  acid  open-hearth  steel  having  a  tensile  strength  be- 
tween 56,000  and  64,000  pounds  per  square  inch.  They  were  all 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE.  319 

rolled  into  angles  and  the  charges  are  grouped  according  to  the 
thickness  of  the  finished  material.  The  great  inferiority  of  the 
tests  from  the  6-inch  ingot  is  easily  explained.  It  is  difficult  to 
cast  small  ingots  so  that  they  will  not  be  scrappy,  and  the  bars 
rolled  from  them  will  oftentimes  contain  flaws;  consequently,  we 
break  down  the  ingot  to  a  billet  two  inches  square  and  chip  out 
the  flaws,  after  which  the  piece  is  reheated  and  gives  a  perfect 
bar.  It  does  not  receive  sufficient  work  to  ensure  good  elonga- 
tion, but  only  the  strength  of  the  material  is  under  investigation, 
and  in  this  respect  the  results  are  found  to  be  comparable  with 
the  finished  material. 

SEC.  XYIg. — Comparison  of  rounds  and  flats. — The  properties 
of  a  flat  bar  are  different  from  those  of  a  round. 

The  points  involved  are  three: 

(1)  The  percentage  of  work  on  the  piece. 

(2)  The  finishing  temperature. 

(3)  The  shape  of  the  piece. 

(1)  The  amount  of  reduction  from  the  bloom  or  ingot  should 
not  play  too  great  a  part  in  the  problem,  for  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
manufacturer  to  so   conduct  the  operation  that   every  piece,  no 
matter  how  large,  shall  have  sufficient  work.    But  a  large  section, 
a  9-inch  round,  for  example,  cannot  possibly  be  finished  under  the 
same  thorough  and  permeative  compression  that  can  be  put  upon 
a  bar  only  one  inch  in  diameter  or  upon  a  thin  flat. 

(2)  It  is  for  the  rolling-mill  to  arrange  that  every  piece  is 
rolled  at  a  proper  temperature,  but  it  is  impracticable  to  finish 
bars  of  all  thicknesses  under  identically  the  same  conditions. 

(3)  The  shape  of  the  test-piece  has  an  influence  upon  the  re- 
sults, but  it  is  difficult  to  isolate  this  relation  from  the  effect  of 
work  and  finishing  temperature. 

The  separation  of  these  three  intertwining  influences  is  a  com- 
plicated problem,  the  nature  of  which  will  be  illustrated  by  Table 
XVI-I,  which  gives  the  results  obtained  from  a  large  number  of 
heats  by  cutting  two  billets  from  the  same  ingot  and  rolling  one 
into  a  round  and  the  other  into  a  flat.  This  table  discloses  the 
following  facts: 

(1)  Taking  both  natural  and  annealed  bars,  there  are  18  com- 
parisons between  rounds  and  flats.  The  ultimate  strength  is  less 
in  the  flat  in  every  case.  The  elastic  limit  falls  in  17  cases,  and 


320 


METALLURGY   OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


the  gain  in  the  exception  is  slight.  The  elongation  is  raised  in  16 
cases,  while  in  the  two  exceptions  the  loss  is  small.  The  reduc- 
tion of  area  is  lowered  in  14  cases  and  raised  in  four.  The  elastic 
ratio  is  lower  in  15  cases,  while  in  the  exceptions  the  increase 
is  small. 

(2)  Comparing  the  loss  of  strength  in  passing  from  round  to 
flat,  as  shown  in  Table  XVI-J,  there  are  nine  possible  compari- 
sons between  the  loss  in  the  natural  bar  and  the  loss  in  the  an- 


I 

I— I 
k 


g 
i 

«H< 


•<      -S 


I 


PH     S 


o 

ii 

&  o 


&§8 

000$ 


punod 


wo 


8S 


S8 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


321 


Dealed  piece.  The  ultimate  strength  falls  more  in  every  case  in 
the  annealed  than  it  does  in  the  natural  bar.  The  elastic  limit 
falls  in  six  cases  and  rises  to  a  much  less  extent  in  three.  The 
elongation  rises  in  five  cases  and  falls  in  four.  The  reduction  of 
area  falls  in  all  cases.  The  elastic  ratio  falls  in  five  cases  and 
rises  in  four. 

The  exceptions  and  irregularities  are  not  confined  to  any  one 
kind  of  steel,  so  that  it  is  proper  to  average  the  losses  and  gains. 
The  results  of  such  condensation  are  given  in  Table  XVI-J,  which 
shows  the  true  average  of  all  the  heats  and  not  the  average  of  the 

TABLE  XVI-J. 
Round  and  Flat  Bars  in  the  Natural  and  Annealed  States. 


Average  of  all  heats  given  in  Table  XVI-I 

Condition 
of  bar. 

Shape  of  bar. 

Gain—  4- 

Round 

Flat 

in  flat. 

Ultimate  strength;  pounds  per  square 
inch, 

Natural 
Annealed 

66679 
62015 

65911 

59567 

—768 
—2448 

Elastic  limit  ;  pounds  per  square  inch, 

Natural 
Annealed 

46588 
89633 

45268 
87106 

—1820 
—2527 

Elastic  ratio;  percent., 

Natural 
Annealed 

69.87 
63.91 

68.68 
62.29 

—1.19 
—1.62 

Elongation  in  8  inches  ;   per  cent., 

Natural 
Annealed 

26.48 
27.16 

28.22 
28.78 

+  1.74 
+  1.57 

Reduction  of  area  ;  per  cent., 

Natural 
Annealed 

54.98 
61.98 

54.05 
58.12 

—0.93 
-3.86 

groups.  The  loss  of  strength  from  the  round  to  the  flat  is  much 
greater  in  the  annealed  than  in  the  natural  bars,  and  the  elastic 
limit  more  than  keeps  pace  with  it.  The  difference  can  hardly 
be  due  to  varying  work,  for  the  round  was  reduced  to  2.6  per  cent, 
of  the  area  of  the  billet  and  the  flat  to  4.7  per  cent,  the  reduc- 
tion in  both  cases  being  so  heavy  that  the  results  should  be  uni- 
form, as  far  as  this  factor  is  concerned.  The  effect  of  the  finish- 
ing temperature  may  be  ignored  in  the  annealed  pieces,  and  yet 
there  is  a  difference  of  2448  pounds  per  square  inch  in  ultimate 
strength  between  the  flat  and  round. 

The  natural  bars  show  less  difference,  which  would  indicate  that 
the  finishing  temperature  has  raised  the  strength  of  the  flat  more 
than  the  round.  This  is  contrary  to  the  condition  just  noted  that 
the  reduction  in  rolling  was  less  in  the  case  of  the  flat,  but  it  is 


322  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

in  accord  with  the  evident  fact  that  a  thin  bar  would  cool  faster 
than  a  round  bar  of  somewhat  less  sectional  area.  The  effect  of 
the  finishing  temperature,  therefore,  was  to  raise  the  tensile 
strength  of  the  flat  more  than  it  did  the  round,  but  not  enough 
to  overcome  the  difference  in  physical  properties  caused  by  the 
shape  of  the  bars. 

The  reduction  of  area  is  less  in  the  case  of  the  flat,  and  the 
difference  is  more  marked  in  the  annealed  than  in  the  natural 
bars.  The  elongation  is  higher  in  both  kinds  of  flats  than  in  the 
corresponding  rounds,  but  the  difference  is  greater  in  the  natural 
bars.  This  appears,  at  first  sight,  to  be  an  exception,  but  a  de- 
crease in  gain  is  equivalent  to  a  loss,  and  this  brings  it  in  accord 
with  the  decrease  in  the  ductility,  as  shown  by  the  lessened  re- 
duction of  area.  The  net  result  is  as  follows: 

(1)  Flat  bars  differ  from  rounds  in  having  less  tensile  strength, 
lower  elastic  limit,  lower  elastic  ratio,  greater  elongation,  and  a 
slightly  lower  reduction  of  area. 

(2)  This  difference  is  caused  not  by  reason  of  a  different  fin- 
ishing temperature,  but  in  spite  of  it. 

SEC.  XVIh. — Comparative  properties  of  rounds  of  different 
diameter. — The  variation  in  strength  of  bars  is  not  confined  to 
pieces  of  different  shape,  for  it  will  exist  in  rounds  of  different 
diameters.  In  Table  XVI-K  are  given  the  results  on  a  number 
of  rivet  rods  where  several  tests  were  made  from  the  same  heat. 
All  the  charges  were  of  the  same  quality  of  steel,  ranging  from 
.11  to  .15  per  cent,  in  carbon,  .02  to  .04  per  cent,  in  phosphorus, 
and  .022  to  .038  per  cent,  in  sulphur. 

The  number  of  heats  would  not  be  sufficient  to  justify  a  general 
conclusion  if  there  were  only  a  single  bar  of  each  heat,  but  each 
figure  is  the  average  of  from  4  to  16  determinations.  In  the 
comparison  of  the  three-quarter  and  seven-eighth  inch  rounds 
there  were  112  tests  of  the  smaller  size  and  94  of  the  larger, 
while  in  the  comparison  of  the  five-eighth  and  three-quarter  inch 
there  were  32  tests  of  the  former  and  34  of  the  latter.  No  aver- 
age is  given  where  less  than  four  tests  were  taken  of  the  same 
size  from  the  same  heat.  Comparing  the  seven-eighth  inch  with 
the  three-quarter  inch  bars,  it  will  be  found  that  in  the  larger 
size  the  following  changes  occurred: 

(1)  The  ultimate  strength  was  lowered  in  ten  heats  and  raised 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


323 


TABLE  XVI-K. 
Comparative  Properties  of  Rounds  of  Different  Diameters. 

Each  figure  is  an  average  of  from  4  to  16  determinations. 


Heat 
No. 

Ult.  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches; 
per  cent. 

Reduction 
of  area;  percent. 

Xta. 

Xta. 

Kta. 

Kin. 

Kin. 

Xln- 

%in. 

Xin. 

11478 
11489 
11650 
11694 
11798 
11945 
12006 
12007 
12519 
2032 
2078 

60028 
59170 
58223 
67833 
57980 
67456 
57550 
57943 
68774 
59670 
69772 

68215 
67671 
67707 
58078 
57517 
66753 
55878 
57406 
66106 
66963 
66425 

40023 
87333 
89219 
89373 
88830 
88498 
88205 
38752 
89015 
89050 
89941 

39433 
87079 
87482 
88210 
88288 
87268 
86485 
87498 
37485 
86810 
87007 

29.52 
29.81 
29.73 
82.45 
80.14 
29.81 
29.58 
80.38 
29.80 
29.67 
80.25 

30.63 
31.96 
80.40 
80.75 
81.04 
80.59 
80.58 
81.44 
81.34 
80.50 
82.79 

60.56 
63.45 
62.70 
66.50 
60.46 
61.60 
60.81 
64.13 
62.40 
64.50 
64.90 

60.80 
62^1 
64.10 
62.60 
63.50 
69.60 
65.05 
61.10 
69.45 
67.90 
63.70 

Av. 

68582 

67156 

88931 

87550 

80.10 

81.09 

62.91 

61.88 

%in. 

%in. 

%in. 

%in. 

%in. 

%in. 

%in. 

%in. 

11478 
12007 
1523 
2200 

60423 
58120 
59683 
69421 

60028 
67948 
65735 
59436 

41373 

88200 
42360 
41276 

40023 
88752 
38750 
89860 

29.44 
80.16 
80.06 
80.00 

29.52 
80.38 
81.66 
80.31 

65.40 
64.55 
64.22 
64.86 

60^6 
64.18 
66.40 
64.65 

Av. 

69399 

58285 

40802 

89348 

29.92 

80.47 

64.76 

68.69 

Xln. 

1^6  in. 

%in. 

lYsin. 

%in. 

ll/ain. 

%in. 

l^in. 

12334 

57820 

69813 

87770 

87298 

80.85 

82.25 

68.16 

61.55 

%in. 

l&in. 

%in. 

lAin. 

%m. 

l&in. 

%in. 

l*in. 

12868 

62683 

60480 

89986 

8657^ 

80.69 

81.97 

62.23 

53.80 

IX  in. 

1*4  in. 

l^in. 



IX  in. 

11517 

60633 



86770 

82.02      

54.8 

in  one,  the  average  showing  a  decrease  of  1426  pounds  per  square 
inch. 

(2)  The  elastic  limit  was  lowered  in  all  cases,  the  average  show- 
ing a  decrease  of  1381  pounds  per  square  inch;  the  elastic  ratio 
was  reduced  from  66.5  per  cent,  to  65.7  per  cent. 

(3)  The  elongation  was  raised  in  ten  cases  and  lowered  in  one, 
the  average  showing  an  increase  of  0.99  per  cent. 

(4)  The  reduction  of  area  was  lowered  in  seven  heats  and  raised 
in  four,  the  average  showing  a  decrease  of  1.08  per  cent. 

Comparing  the  five-eighth  and  three-quarter  inch,  it  will  be 
found  that  in  the  larger  size  the  following  alterations  have  taken 
place : 

(1)  The  ultimate  strength  was  lowered  in  three  heats  and  raised 


324: 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


a  trifling  amount  in  one,  the  average  showing  a  decrease  of  1114 
pounds  per  square  inch. 

(2)  The  elastic  limit  was  lowered  in  three  cases  and  raised  in 
one,  the  average  showing  a  decrease  of  1454  pounds  per  square 
inch;  the  elastic  ratio  was  reduced  from  68.7  per  cent,  to  67.5 
per  cent. 

(3)  The  elongation  was  raised  in  every  case,  the  average  show- 
ing an  increase  of  0.55  per  cent. 

(4)  The  reduction  of  area  was  lowered  in  three  heats  and  raised 
in  one,  the  average  showing  a  decrease  of  1.07  per  cent. 

The  testimony  of  these  records  is  corroborated  by  the  data  on 
the  larger  diameters.  Only  one  heat  is  given  on  each  of  these 
sizes,  but  there  were  from  twelve  to  sixteen  bars  in  each  case,  and 
as  the  steel  was  of  the  same  manufacture  in  all  particulars  the  re- 
sults may  be  accepted  as  comparable.  It  seems  certain  that  larger 
bars  will  give  a  lower  ultimate  strength,  a  lower  elastic  limit,  a 

TABLE  XVI-L. 
Effect  of  Changes  in  the  Width  of  the  Test-Piece. 


Thickness 
in  inches. 

No.  of  heats 
in  av. 

"Width  of  test-piece  in  inches. 

3 

2 

VA 

1 

H 

% 

Ultimate 
strength; 
pounds  per 
square  in. 

| 

2 
8 
8 
2 
10 

72510 
72020 
67945 
73840 
68111 

73480 
72220 
68500 
73550 
68224 

73840 
72420 
68710 
74530 
67950 

78250 
72643 
68220 
73370 
67890 

74420 
71563 
68050 
73520 
68338 

75440 
73531 
68940 
76180 
67442 

True  av. 

80 

69784 

70069 

70176 

69968 

69872 

70578 

t>  . 

O  0 

sstz 
ilfl 

Efl^  S  3 

R     O  cr 
ft« 

1  | 

2 
8 
8 
2 
10 

41685 
42485 
41600 
45840 
45939 

42185 
42353 
42190 
46740 
45346 

41965 
42711 
41620 
46085 
45664 

42975 
42798 
41630 
46285 
46676 

46655 
46058 
45820 
51820 
45659 



True  av. 

30 

43571 

43588 

43579 

44023 

46285 

Elongation 
in  8  inches; 
per  cent. 

| 

2 
8 
8 
2 
10 

29.87 
29.78 
30.75 
28.37 
28.50 

28.87 
27.88 
28.69 
27.50 
27.23 

28.37 
27.66 
27.72 
25.62 
26.65 

25.00 
26.06 
27.34 
25.87 
25.85 

23.75 
24.78 
26.31 
25.12 
24.98 

24.25 
24.88 
24.03 
23.50 
22.93 

True  av. 

80 

29.52 

27.92 

27.25 

26.25 

25.21 

23.87 

Beduction 
of  area; 
per  cent. 

|  ' 

8 
8 
2 
.    10 

52.7 
53.7 
56.8 
52.1 
55.0 

56.1 
54.2 
58.9 
53.9 
56.2 

56.3 
67.8 
59.9 
56.8 
57.9 

53.6 
57.2 
59.6 
60.0 
58.8 

62.3 

57.6 
59.7 
58.2 
59.5 

56.0 
58.9 
61.0 
56.1 
60.0 

True  av. 

80 

54.79 

56.23 

58.09 

58.32 

58.48 

59.45 

THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE.  325 

lower  elastic  ratio,  a  better  elongation,  and  a  lower  reduction  of 
area.  Some  of  these  characteristics  may  be  due  to  differences  in 
finishing  temperature,  but  the  data  on  elastic  limits  show  that 
the  pieces  were  all  rolled  at  nearly  the  same  degree  of  heat,  and 
such  small  variations  are  not  sufficient  to  account  for  the  increase 
in  the  elongation. 

This  variation  in  physical  qualities,  as  produced  by  differences 
in  diameter,  has  been  discussed  by  Appleby.*  In  common  with 
others,  he  makes  the  fundamental  mistake  of  rolling  all  the  bars 
to  one  size,  viz.,  1J  inches  in  diameter,  and  turning  the  test  speci- 
mens from  these  bars.  A  test-piece  of  one-half  inch  in  diameter 
thus  obtained  will  be  merely  the  core  or  center  of  the  original  bar, 
and  will  be  inferior  bojth  chemically  and  physically.  On  the  one 
hand  it  embraces  the  area  of  maximum  segregation,  while  on  the 
other  it  has  not  undergone  the  compression  that  the  exterior  of 
the  bar  has  received  in  the  rolls,  and  a  comparison  of  the  bars  is 
invalid.  The  method,  which  I  have  employed,  of  comparing  rolled 
bars  of  different  sizes  in  the  form  in  which  they  left  the  rolls, 
also  presents  complicating  conditions,  inasmuch  as  the  effect  of 
work  is  not  the  same  on  large  and  on  small  sections,  but  it  has 
the  advantage  that  it  represents  actual  conditions. 

SEC.  XVIi. — Influence  of  the  width  of  the  test-piece. — Conclu- 
sive testimony  that  variations  in  the  elongation  may  be  due  solely 
to  the  cross-section  of  the  test-piece  is  furnished  by  Table  XVI-L, 
which  gives  the  results  obtained  in  breaking  strips  of  different  width 
when  the  pieces  were  cut  side  by  side  from  the  same  plate. 
•  No  comparison  can  be  made  between  the  different  thicknesses, 
since  the  individual  heats  were  not  the  same,  but  in  the  matter  of 
widths  the  case  is  otherwise,  for  every  heat  in  the  group  was  tested 
in  all  the  widths,  the  bars  from  each  heat  being  cut  from  the  same 
small  strip  of  plate,  and  this  should  give  a  valid  basis  of  com- 
parison. 

The  conclusions  are  as  follows : 

(1)  Variations  in  the  width  of  the  test-piece  have  little  effect 
upon  the  ultimate  strength  per  square  inch. 

(2)  They  probably  have  little  influence  upon  the  elastic  limit. 
The  narrowest  pieces  show  a  decided  increase,  but  this  needs  cor- 
roboration.     The  three-inch  pieces  were  pulled  at  the  works  of  the 

*  Proc.  Inst.  Civil  Eng.    (England) ,  Vol.  CXVIII,  pp.  395-417. 


326 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


Pottstown  Iron  Company,  being  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  ma- 
chine at  Steelton,  and  the  determinations  of  elastic  limit  are,  there- 
fore, not  comparable. 

TABLE  XVI-M. 
Influence  upon  the  Elongation  of  Changes  in  Width  (Barba). 


1  Number  of 
sample. 

Dimensions  in  inches. 

Ratio  of 
width  to 
thickness. 

Elongation; 
per  cent. 

Length. 

Width. 

Thick- 
ness. 

1 
2 
8 
4 
5 
6 

8 

8.94 
8.94 
8.94 
8.94 
8.94 
8.94 
8.94 
8.94 

0.394 
0.787 
1.181 
1.575 
1.964 
2.352 
2.756 
8.150 

0.894 
0.894 
0.894 
0.894 
0.394 
0.394 
0.394 
0.394 

1 
2 
8 
4 
5 
6 
•    7 
8 

81.0 
84.0 
85.0 
87.2 
89.0 
40.8 
88.5 
84.5 

(3)  The  elongation  increases  regularly  as  the  width  increases. 

(4)  The  reduction  of  area  decreases  as  the  width  increases. 
The  same  subject  was  investigated  by  Barba,*  his  results  being 

given  in  Table  XVI-M.  The  figures  show  a  continual  increase  in 
elongation  until  the  width  is  six  times  the  thickness,  after  which 
the  stretch  grows  less.  The  latter  point  is  not  important  in  prac- 
tice, since  there  is  no  occasion  to  use  such  a  wide  section,  and  in 
plates  of  ordinary  thickness  the  strength  of  such  pieces  is  beyond 
the  capacity  of  most  machines. 

TABLE  XVI-N. 
Effect  of  an  Increase  of  Width  upon  the  Elongation. t 


Thicknessl 
in  in. 

"Width  of  piece  in  inches. 

1 

VA 

m 

VA 

8 

K 

Number  of  pieces  

180 
57950 
26.27 

120 

57878 
26.98 

80 
58102 
28.01 

80 
57800 
29.49 

18 
57675 

80.82 

Average  ultimate  strength;  Ibs.  per  sq.  inch  .  . 
Elongation  in  8  inches;  percent  

% 

Number  of  pieces  

20    I    25 
566801  57001 
26.921  26.96 

20 
56720 
27.91 

20 

56860 
80.17 

20 
55870 
81.02 

Average  ultimate  strength;  Ibs.  per  sq.  inch  .  . 
Elongation  in  8  inches;  percent  

The  increase  in  elongation  in  greater  widths  has  been  shown  by 
E.  A.  Custer,  of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

*  Resistance  des  Materiaux ;  Memoires  de  la  Societe  des  Ingenieurs  Civils.  Vol.  1, 1880t 
p.  682. 
+  E.  A.  Custer,  private  communication. 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


327 


who  has  given  me  the  results  obtained  by  him  in  testing  boiler 
plate.  The  steel  ranged  in  strength  from  55,400  to  61,300  pounds 
per  square  inch,  and  was  of  nearly  uniform  chemical  composition. 
The  records  are  given  in  Table  XVI-N. 

SEC.  XVIj. — Influence  of  a  change  in  length. — To  determine  the 
relative  elongation  with  varying  length,  I  carried  out  the  following 
investigation:  Twenty  rods,  three-quarter  inch  in  diameter,  were 
selected  from  one  heat  of  acid  open-hearth  steel.  From  each  rod 
seven  bars  were  cut,  one  of  which  was  tested  in  a  length  of  2  inches, 
and  one  each  in  4,  6,  8,  10,  12  and  14  inches.  The  results  are 
given  in  Table  XVI-0.  The  individual  records  of  elongation  are 
shown  to  prove  that  the  averages  are  not  formed  by  the  combina- 
tion of  unlike  members.  These  data  are  plotted  in  Curve  AA,  Fig. 
XVI-A.  A  similar  series  of  tests  was  made  by  Barba,*  the  results 


TABLE  XVI-0. 
Influence  of  Changes  in  the  Length. 

9£-inoh  rounds ;  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  acid  open-hearth  rivet  steel. 


*-i 

Length  of  test-piece  in  inches. 

00 

fe 

2 

4 

0 

8 

10 

12 

14 

Ult.  strength  ;  Ibs.  per  square  inch. 

Av. 

60685 

60348 

60099 

60128 

60068 

60059 

60006 

Elastic  limit;  Ibs.  per  square  inch. 

Av. 

42548 

43134 

42951 

43159 

43161 

43024 

48284 

Elastic  ratio;  per  cent. 

Av. 

70.11 

71.48 

71.47 

71.78 

71.86 

71.64 

71.98 

Bed  action  of  area;  per  cent. 

Av. 

66.7 

66.9 

67.1 

66.8 

67.3 

67.2 

67.1 

1 

47.50 

85.00 

80.67 

80.50 

28.20 

27.17 

26.48 

2 

46.00 

85.50 

80.67 

80.50 

29.80 

27.67 

26.48 

8 

47.00 

84.50 

82.33 

28.25 

27.80 

27.50 

26.48 

4 

48.50 

85.50 

82.00 

80.25 

28.20 

25.00 

27.00 

6 

47.00 

35.50 

83.00 

28.75 

29.00 

27.17 

28.14 

6 

46.50 

89.00 

82.67 

28.75 

81.60 

29.88 

28.21 

7 

47.50 

37.50 

81.83 

80.50 

29.40 

27.83 

25.71 

8 

46.00 

83.00 

30.00 

80.00 

26.60 

28.00 

24.48 

9 

47.50 

35.50 

34.33 

81.75 

80.40 

29.88 

28.21 

10 

47.50 

36.00 

80.83 

29.50 

28.80 

28.60 

?fi.» 

Elongation;  per  cent. 

11 

49.00 

84.75 

80.00 

81.00 

80.20 

27.75 

27.57 

12 

49.00 

36.50 

81.83 

29.50 

27.80 

29.83 

28.71 

13 

47.00 

85.50 

82.33 

29.00 

26.60 

27.00 

26.43 

14 

47.50 

88.00 

81.67 

82.75 

81.00 

80.50 

26.79 

15 

48.50 

87.00 

83.83 

30.75 

29.00 

28.83 

27.64 

16 

47.50 

37.00 

83.00 

81.25 

81.00 

27.75 

29.29 

17 

48.50 

87.00 

82.50 

29.00 

28.20 

27.83 

27.21 

18 

46.00 

85.00 

84.67 

28.75 

28.00 

28.75 

MM 

19 

47.00 

87.00 

83.00 

80.00 

27.50 

27.00 

26.29 

20 

47.60 

87.50 

34.83 

82.50 

80.00 

26.25 

28.14 

Av. 

47.48 

86.11 

82.17 

80.16 

28.96 

27.87 

26.76 

*  Resistance  des  Materiaux ;  Memoires  de  la  Societe  des  Ingenicurs  Civils.   Vol.  1, 1880 
p.  682. 


328 


METALLURGY  'OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


being  given  in  Table  XVI-P,  and  plotted  in   Curve  BE,  Fig. 
XVI-A. 

The  linear  elongation  of -a  fractured  bar  is  made  up  of  two  fac- 
tors. First,  the  excessive  stretch  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  break,  due  to  the  deformation  known  as  "necking."  Second, 
the  "permanent  set"  throughout  the  rest  of  the  bar.  The  first  fac- 
tor will  bear  a  greater  ratio  to  the  sum  total  as  the  length  grows 
less,  and  a  less  ratio  as  the  length  increases.  Therefore,  if  the 
length  of  the  piece  is  reduced  so  that  it  is  all  included  in  the  region 


50;- 


45.- 


40.- 


35.- 


30- 


26.- 


20r 


AbBCissas 
Ordinate 


-Length  in  Inch« 
—Percentage  of 
Eloilgatioa 


10 


14 


1C 


18 


30 


Construction  points. 

No. 

Curve  AA. 

Curve 

BB. 

1 
2 
8 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

x=  2 
X=  4 
x=  6 

x=  8 

x  —  12 

y  =  47.43 
y  —  86.11 
y  =  82.17 
y  =  80.16 
y  =  28.96 
y  =  27.87 
y==  26.76 

x=   1.97 
X=  3.94 
X=  5.91 
x=  7.87 
x=  9.84 
x  =  11.81 
x  =  18.78 
x  =  15.75 
x  =  17.72 

y  =  42.0 
y  =  82.0 
y  =  29.3 
y  =  27.2 
y  =  26.6 
y  =  26.0 
y  =  25.1 
y  =  25.0 
y  =  24.9 

FIG.  XVI-A. — ELONGATION  WITH  VARYING  LENGTH. 

of  necking,  as,  for  instance,  when  the  piece  is  only  2  inches  long, 
the  percentage  of  elongation  will  increase  rapidly.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  the  length  is  increased  beyond  14  inches,  the  ratio  of 


THE   HISTOEY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


329 


the  first  factor  to  the  second  is  not  great,  and  the  change  in  total 
percentage  with  each  linear  increment  is  not  marked. 

If  the  length  were  zero,  the  percentage  of  elongation  would  be 
infinite,  while,  if  the  length  were  infinite,  the  percentage  of  exten- 
sion would  be  represented  by  the  permanent  set  of  those  portions 
of  the  bar  where  no  necking  occurs.  The  true  curve  expressing  the 
law  of  relative  elongation  is  undoubtedly  an  hyperbola,  one  asymp- 
tote of  which  will  correspond  to  a  length  of  zero,  while  the  other 
will  be  the  percentage  due  to  the  permanent  set,  which  will  vary 
with  every  kind  of  steel. 

TABLE  XVI-P. 
Influence  upon  the  Elongation  of  Changes  in  the  Length.* 


No.  of 
bar. 

Dimensions;  inches. 

Ratio  of 
length  to 
diameter. 

Elonga- 
tion; per 
cent. 

Length. 

Diameter. 

1 

1.97 

0.677 

2.91 

42.0 

2 

8.94 

0.677 

5.81 

82.0 

3 

6.91 

0.677 

8.72 

29.3 

4 

7.87 

0.677 

11.60 

27.2 

5 

9.84 

0.677 

14.50 

26.8 

6 

11.81 

0.677 

17.40 

26.0 

7 

13.78 

0.677 

20.30 

25.1 

8 

15.75 

0.677 

23.30 

25.0 

9 

17.72 

0.677 

26.20 

24.9 

The  elongation  in  the  portion  of  the  piece  which  does  not  un* 
dergo  "necking"  may  be  calculated  from  Table  XVI-0.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  experience,  a  length  of  about  two  inches  includes  the  region 
wherein  necking  occurs,  and  this  length  is  a  constant,  no  matter 
what  the  total  length  of  the  test-piece  may  be.  A  test-piece  two 
inches  long  is  practically  all  "neck,"  while  in  one  four  inches  long 
there  will  be  one  length  of  two  inches  which  is  all  neck,  and  two 
inches  which  will  remain  nearly  a  true  cylinder  after  fracture.  In 
the  case  of  the  2-inch  test-pieces,  given  in  Table  XVI-0,  the  aver- 
age elongation  was  47.43  per  cent.,  representing  a  linear  elonga- 
tion of  0.9486  inches.  In  the  case  of  the  4-inch  test-pieces  the 
stretch,  by  the  above  assumption,  was  the  same  in  the  necked  re- 
gion, while  the  total  elongation  was  36.11  per  cent.,  representing  a 
linear  elongation  of  1.4444  inches.  Hence,  the  elongation  in  the 
two  inches  of  the  cylindrical  portion  was  1.4444 — 0.9486=0.4958 
inches,  or  24.79  per  cent. 

*  Barba,  Proc.  French  Soc.  Civil  Eng.,  Vol.  1, 1880,  p.  682. 


330  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

In  the  same  manner  the  elongation  in  the  cylindrical  portion 
may  be  calculated  for  all  the  different  lengths  given  in  Table 
XVI-0.  The  results  are  as  follows,  in  per  cent. : 

4»=24.79;  6"=24.54;  8"=24.40;  10"=24.34;  12"=23.96;  14"=23.32. 

There  is  a  decrease  in  elongation  with  an  increase  in  length,  and 
the  relation  is  so  regular  that  it  is  probably  due  to  something  be- 
sides experimental  error.  If  the  necking  be  assumed  to  take  place 
within  a  length  of  only  one  inch,  instead  of  two  inches,  the  calcu- 
lated percentage  of  elongation  will  be  a  little  more  uniform,  but  the 
improvement  is  so  slight,  even  with  this  extreme  hypothesis,  that 
some  other  cause  is  shown  to  be  at  work. 

I  believe  that  the  true  explanation  is  in  the  fact,  which  was  called 
to  my  attention  by  Mr.  W.  R.  Webster,  that  the  breaking  speed  va- 
ries with  each  length.  The  speed  of  the  machine  was  the  same  in 
every  case,  but  a  constant  speed  of  the  grips  does  not  mean  a  con- 
stant rate  of  distortion  in  the  bar.  In  the  case  of  the  2-inch  piece, 
the  stretch  was  47.43  per  cent.,  indicating  a  linear  extension  of 
0.95  inches;  in  the  case  of  the  14-inch  piece  the  stretch  was  26.76 
per  cent.,  indicating  an  extension  of  3.75  inches.  The  rate  of  dis- 
tortion, therefore,  was  four  times  as  great  in  the  2-inch  test  as  in 
the  14-inch  bar,  and  this  condition  would  give  a  higher  elongation 
with  each  decrease  in  length,  as  shown  in  Section  XVIm.  Owing 
to  this  complication  it  is  impossible  to  deduce  a  theoretically  accu- 
rate answer  from  the  foregoing  data,  but  in  a  three-quarter  inch 
round  bar  of  infinite  length,  of  the  steel  shown  in  Table  XVI-0, 
the  elongation  would  be  about  24  per  cent. 

SEC.  XVIk. — Tests  on  eye-bars. — Through  the  courtesy  of  The 
Union  Bridge  Company,  of  Athens,  Pa.,  I  have  had  access  to  its 
records  of  eye-bar  tests,  and  have  classified  them  to  determine  the 
influence  of  width,  thickness  and  length  upon  the  physical  proper- 
ties. All  bars  which  showed  100  per  cent,  crystalline  fracture,  and 
pieces  of  miscellaneous  lengths  when  there  were  less  than  three 
bars  of  the  same  steel  in  the  group,  were  omitted.  A  few  pieces 
were  discarded  when  the  elongation  in  12  inches  was  the  same  as 
in  the  full  length,  for  this  indicates  either  a  clerical  error  or  that 
fracture  took  place  in  the  eye.  After  these  eliminations  only  three 
works  were  represented,  two  of  them  by  both  open-hearth  and 
Bessemer  steel.  The  records  are  given  in  Table  XVI-Q,  and  show 


THE   HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


331 


TABLE  XVI-Q. 
Physical  Properties  of  Eye-Bars. 

NOTES.— The  bar  was  broken  in  full-sized  section,  but  the  elongation  here  given 
is  the  percentage  in  the  12  inches  which  included  the  fracture.  "  Narrow " 
signifies  not  over  6  inches  wide,  the  average  being  about  5  inches;  "Wide" 
signifies  over  6  inches  wide,  the  average  being  about  7  inches.  "  Thin  "  signifies 
under  1*4  inches  thick,  the  average  being  about  1  inch.  "  Thick  "  signifies  not 
less  than  \%  inches  thick,  the  average  being  about  1%  inches. 


Name  of  maker.  1 

Method  of 
manufacture. 

Limits  of  ultimate 
strength  in 
group;  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

Relative  thickness 
of  piece. 

Relative  width  of 
piece. 

Number  of  heats 
in  average. 

Average  ultimate 
streneth; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Average  elastic 
limit;  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

Average  elastic 
ratio;  percent. 

Elongation  in  12 
inches;  percent. 

Reduction  of  area; 
per  cent. 

A 

B 

Open-hearth. 

54000 
to 
64000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

109 
18 

61528 
59950 

89017 
87937 

63.4 
63.3 

84.72 
88.72 

49.8 

48.8  t 

Thick 

Narrow 
Wide 

33 
11 

60838 
60307 

87470 
86688 

61.9 
60.8 

87.43 
89.61 

50.0  ' 
46.8  , 

64000 
to 
74000 

Thin 

Narrow 

72 

66702 

41967 

62.9 

82.58 

47.5 

Thick 

Narrow 

19 

66570 

41853 

62.9 

84.22 

47.5 

i 

54000 
to 
64000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

102 
5 

59557 
61988 

86086 
88706 

60.8 
62.4 

84.48 
86.20 

50.8 
44.2 

Thick 

Narrow 
Wide 

19 
26 

60855 
60932 

86166 
87019 

59.4 
60.8 

84.16 
87.96 

47.8 
48.1 

64000 
to 
74000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

22 
6 

66441 
66947 

41665 
89330 

62.7 
58.7 

81.93 
82.43 

47.3 
45.0 

Thick 

Narrow 
Wide 

8 
8 

67370 
67263 

87103 
87290 

65.1 
65.4 

80.90 
83.00 

42.6 
41.8 

I 

64000 
to 
64000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

47 
19 

69379 
58582 

£5395 
85141 

69.6 
60.0 

84.08 
87.47 

49.2 
47.8 

Thick 

Narrow 
Wide 

18 
61 

59355 
69536 

84162 
84403 

67.6 
67.8 

84.83 
86.63 

46.4 
46.4 

64000 
to 
74000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

21 
5 

66231 

67184 

40756 
40766 

61.5 
60.7 

80.19 
85.76 

47.7 
49.3 

Thick 

Wide 

22 

66874 

87880 

56.6 

83.02 

45.0 

A 

$ 

O 

54000 
to 
64000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

103 
23 

59018 
69950 

83901 
82650 

57.4 
54.5 

83.79 
86.65 

48.8 
44.8 

Thick 

Narrow 
Wide 

24 
55 

58985 
58454 

83460 
81971 

56.7 
64.7 

84.80 
89.22 

46.8 
48.0 

64000 
to 

74000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

23 
8 

66230 
69350 

40332 
89506 

60.9 
67.0 

80.18 

80.80 

44.7 

36.3 

Thick 

Narrow 

3 

65690 

88427 

58.5 

83.50 

44.7 

O 

Open-hearth. 

54000 
to 
64000 

Thin 

Narrow 
Wide 

121 
18 

60553 
59366 

85592 
84053 

58.8 
67.4 

83.57 

30.53 

48.7 
46.1 

Thick 

Narrow 
Wide 

20 
21 

60870 
60240 

84440 
83245 

56.6 
55.2 

85.20 
89.07 

48.2 
48.3 

64000  to 
74000 

Thin 

Narrow 

81 

66515 

89206 

58.9 

82.06 

46.2 

332 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


that  there  is  no  radical  difference  in  the  character  of  the  metal 
furnished  by  the  three  makers,  or  between  the  two  methods  of 
manufacture.  This  does  not  disprove  the.  statement  that  Bessemer 
metal  is  less  reliable  under  continued  shock,  but  it  does  allow  the 
averaging  of  all  the  records,  in  order  to  increase  the  number  of 
members  in  each  group. 

The  result  of  such  combination  will  be  found  in  Table  XVI-R, 
wherein  all  pieces  of  the  same  length  and  section  are  added  to- 
gether. The  number  of  bars  does  not  agree  in  each  case  with  the 
number  in  the  previous  list.  Thus  Table  XVI-Q  shows  83  bars  that 


TABLE  XVI-R. 
Properties  of  Eye-Bars,  According  to  Length,  Width  and  Thickness. 


ft 

«w 

• 

z 

3     -^ 

f 

| 

o.. 

5  s 

boo 

I 

!p 

ft 

lla 

in  full 
r  cent 

||f 

i 

ho 

" 

0>  00 

floj 

JJ  ,_<D 

C3  Q. 

fl'O  •- 

o 

Kind  of  bar. 

^ 

*o 

C  ^ 

s  .a  03 

"o>  ft-2 

O  ,„ 

OS® 

d49 

® 

Sft 

Q   *"* 

?nft 

So^o1 

gj-£ 

5s 

«!** 

:§§ 

.9 

£i  & 

•4^    C3   .^ 

cfi  5  ^ 

c3*~*  o3 

MM 

&C*r-t  £) 

o  o 

a 

53  ti 

ill 

<D  h 

Q?  ^j  Q) 

>  a  ft 

£.So- 

§3 

l.sl 

t3  ® 

fc 

fc 

A 

<1 

< 

•< 

i 

E 

05 

i 

65 

13  to  16 

14.8 

60070 

35890 

18.56 

84.55 

48,97 

Narrow  and 

2 

132 

17  to  20 

18.6 

59950 

36160 

16.17 

83.93 

49.40 

thin;  54000  to 
€4000  pounds 

8 
4 

118 

82 

21  to  25 
26  to  30 

22.7 
28.1 

60280 
60140 

35940 
36530 

15.56 
15.26 

84.38 
84.25 

48.81 
49.95 

per  square 

5 

71 

31  to  85 

83.2 

60120 

35990 

13.81 

83.81 

60.11 

True  av.  A 

468 

all  lengths 

.  .   . 

60110 

36100 

84.17 

49.40 

6 

15 

13  to  16 

14.8 

59380 

35730 

17.53 

87.58 

46.75 

Wide  and  thin; 

7 

21 

17  to  20 

19.0 

59050 

34070 

17.18 

86.79 

45.12 

54000  to  64000 

8 

22 

21  to  25 

22.8 

60860 

35540 

15.92 

86.00 

45.81 

pounds  per 

9 

14 

26  to  80 

28.1 

58390 

33930 

14.94 

39.61 

47.89 

True  av.  B 

72 

all  lengths 

.   .   . 

59540 

34840 

.  .  . 

87.26 

46.21 

Narrow  and 

10 

38 

17  to  20 

17.9 

60050 

35770 

17.36 

85.94 

48.17 

thick;  54000  to 

11 

88 

21  to  25 

22.8 

61080 

30040 

15.87 

84.46 

46.79 

64000  pounds 

12 

17 

26  to  30 

28.0 

57730 

32380 

15.38 

86.83 

49.28 

inch. 

True  av.  C 

93 

all  lengths 

60050 

35260 

85.50 

4780 

13 

18 

10  to  13 

12.0 

59708 

35130 

19.80 

85.90 

46.10 

Wide  and 
thick  ;  54000  to 
64000  pounds 

14 
15 
16 
17 

22 
24 
67 
82 

13  to  16 
17  to  20 
21  to  25 
26  to  80 

14.8 
18.9 
23.2 
27.8 

59460 
58930 
59990 
59360 

33990 
33080 
34270 
34330 

16.90 
17.09 
15.98 
15.84 

88.02 
88.26 
87.42 
89.98 

47.97 
45.92 
46.94 
48.06 

Pe*nch.are 

18 

11 

81  to  <<5 

83.1 

58480 

32090 

16.50 

40.61 

48.15 

True  av.  D 

174 

all  lengths 

.   .   . 

59540 

34030 

.  .  . 

88.18 

47.12 

19 

25 

18  to  16 

14.7 

66590 

40830 

J6.06 

81.68 

47.12 

Narrow  and 

20 

58 

17  to  20 

18.5 

66620 

40420 

15.82 

81.57 

46.19 

thin;  64000  to 

21 

64 

21  to  25 

22.9 

66230 

40730 

14.91 

32.38 

46.84 

74000  pounds 

22 

83 

26  to  30 

28.7 

66150 

40590 

14.09 

82.37 

46.36 

per  square 

23 

84 

81  to  85 

83.1 

66560 

40620 

14.50 

80.78 

47.55 

inch. 

i 

True  av.  E 

214 

all  lengths 

66420 

40620 

.   .    J  31.S2 

46.74 

THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


333 


are  classed  as  'Vide  and  thin"  and  as  having  a  tensile  strength 
between  54,000  and  64,000  pounds,  while  Table  XVI-R  gives  only 
72  bars.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  83  bars  were 
shorter  than  13  feet  or  longer  than  30  feet,  and  that  there  was  not 
a  sufficient  number  of  any  one  size  to  warrant  combining  them. 
The  elongation  in  12  inches  and  the  reduction  of  area  will  be  inde- 
pendent of  the  length  of  the  bar,  so  that  each  of  the  divisions  is 
again  summarized  in  the  true  averages,  A,  B,  C  and  D.  The  in- 
fluence of  width  will  be  found  by  comparing  A  with  B,  and  C  with 
D,  and  the  influence  of  thickness  by  comparing  A  with  C,  and  B 
with  D. 

The  average  elongation  in  12  inches  of  the  wider  bars  is  about 
3  per  cent,  better  than  the  narrow  pieces,  while  the  narrow  bars  are 
superior  in  reduction  of  area.  The  thick  bars  give  one  per  cent. 
more  elongation,  but  the  difference  in  thickness  does  not  have  a 
marked  effect  upon  the  reduction  of  area.  By  analyzing  the  in- 
dividual records  of  the  table,  it  will  be  seen  that  corroborative  evi- 
dence is  at  hand  of  the  correctness  of  the  averages.  There  are 
seven  comparisons  for  width,  viz.,  1  to  6,  2  to  7,  3  to  8,  4  to  9, 
10  to  15,  11  to  16,  12  to  17;  there  are  seven  comparisons  for  thick- 
ness, viz.,  2  to  10,  3  to  11,  4  to  12,  6  to  14,  7  to  15,  8  to  16, 
9  to  17. 


TABLE  XVI-S. 
Properties  of  Eye-Bars,  Classified  According  to  Length. 


P 


II 

£  60 
Sd 
3 


5A 

gbi 


m 


it, 

•5  =  d 


• 

" 


oca 


41 
102 
215 
245 
145 


10  to  12 
18  to  16 
17  to  20 
21  to  25 
26  to  80 
81  to  85 


11.8 
14.8 
18.6 
22.9 
28.0 
83.1 


59770 
60380 
59520 


85460 
85540 
8546C 
85310 
85470 


18.07 
18.05 
16.68 
15.75 
15.87 
14.17 


84.68 
85.75 
85.04 
85.37 
86.86 
84.73 


46.95 
48.43 
48.37 
47.72 
49.25 
49.85 


880      !  all  lengths 


35440 


85.41 


48.42 


In  every  case  the  wider  and  the  thicker  pieces  gave  the  greater 
elongation  in  12  inches.  The  narrow  pieces  gave  the  better  reduc- 
tion of  area  in  every  case  except  one,  and  in  this  instance  the  dif- 


334 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


ference  was  trifling.  In  thickness  the  results  on  reduction  of  area 
are  contradictory,  there  being  three  cases  where  the  thin  bars  were 
superior  and  four  cases  where  the  thick  were  better.  An  increase 
in  width  or  an  increase  in  thickness  improves  the  elongation  in  the 
12  inches  that  includes  the  fracture,  but  the  reduction  of  area  is 
improved  in  less  measure  or  not  at  all. 

Applying  the  same  method  of  inspection  to  the  records  of  elon- 
gation in  full  length,  the  wide  bars  were  superior  in  four  cases  and 
inferior  in  three  cases,  while  the  thick  bars  were  superior  in  five 
cases  and  inferior  in  two  cases.  Thus  there  seems  to  be  quite  a 
difference  between  the  records  of  full-length  tests  and  those  from 
12-inch  lengths,  so  that  it  is  justifiable  to  conclude  that  while 
wider  and  thicker  bars  do  give  greater  elongation  after  fracture,  the 
advantage  is  confined  to  the  region  of  the  "necking,"  and  the  per- 


19 
18 
17 
18 
15 
14 
13 

Curves  si 
Abscissae 

lowing  La* 
-len&tu.in 

of  Elongat 
feet. 

on  of  Eye- 

taim 

Ordinate 
Curve  A  j 

CurveB: 

-percent 
L-54,OOOto 

-64,000  to; 

Elongation 
54,000  pound 

4,000  pound 

nfuillengt 
Steel;  see  T 
Steel;  seel 

ible  XVI-S 
ible  XVI-R 

\ 

• 

B. 

\ 

\ 

V 

V 

*v^ 

-^ 

\ 

X, 

k 

FIG.  XVI-B.- 


10  15  20  25  30 

-LAW  OF  ELONGATION  OF  EYE-BARS. 


centage  of  stretch  throughout  the  body  of  the  bar  is  independent 
of  the  section.  If  this  is  true,  it  is  a  most  important  fact  and  has 
a  wide  application  in  structural  engineering. 

Since  there  is  little,  if  any,  difference  in  the  percentage  of  elon- 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


335 


& 


I 


eg     W 

-8 


a"g 


I 


I    i 


gation  in  pieces  of  the  same  length,  although  they  be  of  different 
section,  it  becomes  possible  to  further  combine  the  records  by  put- 
ting together  all  widths  and  thicknesses  and  classifying  by  length 

li  _       Jas! 
I 

.2 
§ 

1 

g 


Aioiaq  -30  aea: 


•wtiq  jo  -OK 


-jo  J9«i 


•'jo  J9j 


JO  pJBpUB-Jg 


oqioo 


s.3 

-;§•§? 

a|an 

kSl 

ls^ 
I!  a? 

ii1 


•p 

ijil 

isfe 

™$%> 

S'g  « 


336 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


alone.  This  is  done  in  Table  XVI-S.  It  may  be  noticed  that  there 
are  41  bars  running  between  10  and  12  feet  in  length,  while  in 
Table  XVI-E  there  are  only  18  of  this  size.  This  arises  from  the 
fact  that  there  were  a  few  of  this  length  in  each  of  the  groups  as 
classified  by  section,  but  they  were  not  in  sufficient  number  to  be 
of  value  for  comparison,  except  in  Group  13  (see  Table  XVI-R). 
In  Table  XVI-S  these  scattering  bars  are  combined  with  Group  13 
to  have  a  larger  number  in  the  average.  The  results  are  plotted  in 
Fig.  XVI-B,  which  shows  the  law  of  elongation  in  long  bars.  A 
further  point  is  the  proportion  of  bars  that  fall  below  a,  given 
standard,  since  an  average  may  be  made  up  of  widely  different 
kinds  of  metal,  or  it  may  be  made  from  a  uniform  product. 

Table  XVI-T  gives  an  analysis  of  the  records  showing  the  num- 
ber and  percentage  of  bars  in  each  division  which  give  less  than 
the  standard  percentage  of  elongation. 

The  number  of  rejections  on  longer  lengths  is  fully  as  great  as 


TABLE  XVI-TJ. 
Alteration  in  Physical  Properties  by  Rest  after  Rolling.' 


Hand  rounds. 

Guide  Bounds. 

E 

2 

Id 

Alteration.  Gain=  + 

Id 

Alteration.    Gain  =*  + 

•» 

L,oss=— 

*c>  * 

Loss—— 

to 

I1 

I1 

lj 

4! 
I 

1 

ft 

. 

j 
I 

1 

S 

•-« 

J 

umber  of  gronp 

Imits  of  ultima 
pounds  per  squ 

3SS  than  24  hrs. 

ore  than  24  hrs 

lastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Ltimate  strengt 
3ounds  per 
square  inch. 

1* 
If 

Jduction  of  arei 
per  cent. 

5ss  than  24  hrs. 

ore  than  24  hrs. 

astio  limit; 
pounds  per  squi 
nch. 

Itimate  strengt 
pounds  per  squ 
nch. 

ongation  in  8 
nches;  percen 

eduction  of  are* 
aor  cent. 

fe 

3 

jj 

H 

3 

H 

ar 

3 

3 

a 

3 

W 

« 

I 
II 
III 
IV 
V 
VI 
VII 

55000  to  60000 
60000  to  65000 
65000  to  70000 
70000  to  75000 
75000  to  80000 
80000  to  85000 
85000  to  90000 

10 

32 
21 
10 

7 

6 

12 
20 
8 
8 

6 

10 
22 
24 
85 
16 
8 

10 
22 
86 
86 
47 
80 
16 

+  719 
-453 
—170 
—166 
—814 
—165 
+  92 

+437 
+596 
+882 
+688 
+201 
+767 
+525 

+.65 
+.73 
+.83 
+.44 
-.81 
+.42 
+.46 

+  .90 
+1.13 
+1.45 
+1.14 
+2.83 
+1.24 
+  .62 

—1207 
—  471 
+  802 
-809 
+  213 

+  885 
—180 
+  197 
+  107 
+  86 

+1.11 
-.25 
+  .66 
+  1.06 
+  .29 

+  2.14 
+  2.07 
+2.95 
+  6.76 
+  .44 

Av. 

of  all  tests. 

80- 

48 

—  894 

+  109 

+  .56 

+  2.87 

121 

197 

—270 

+507 

+.32 

+  .99 

*  Notes  on  Results  Obtained  from  Steel  Tested  Shortly  after  Rolling.    Amer.  Soc.  Mech. 
Eng.,  Vol.  IX,  p.  38. 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE.  337 

with  shorter  bars,  and  this  proves  that  the  specified  decrease  in 
elongation  for  an  increase  in  length  is  not  greater  than  should 
justly  be  allowed.  In  the  bars  made  by  "A"  the  rejections  amount 
to  4  per  cent,  in  Bessemer  metal,  and  10  per  cent,  in  open-hearth; 
in  those  made  by  "B"  they  are  10  per  cent,  in  the  Bessemer  and  20 
per  cent,  in  the  open-hearth,  while  with  "C"  they  are  23  per  cent. 
Taking  into  consideration  that  the  records  cover  only  the  products 
of  large  and  well-known  works,  and  that  all  bars  having  a  crystal- 
line fracture  and  those  breaking  in  the  eye  were  discarded,  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  the  standard  specifications  call  for  good 
material. 

SEC.  XVII. — Alterations  in  steel  by  rest  after  rolling. — In  ad- 
dition to  the  variations  caused  by  differences  in  the  working  of  the 
test-piece  and  in  its  shape,  there  is  another  factor  in  the  length  of 
time  which  elapses  between  rolling  and  testing.  This  subject  was 
investigated  at  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Works  by  E.  C.  Felton,  now 
president  of  the  company,  a  condensation  of  whose  work  is  given 
in  Table  XVI-U.  The  changes  are  not  strongly  marked,  but  there 
seems  to  be  a  molecular  rearrangement,  for  several  hours  after  the 
bar  is  cold,  whereby  there  is  a  lowering  of  the  elastic  limit,  and  an 
increase  in  the  ultimate  strength,  the  elongation,  and  the  reduction 
of  area. 

SEC.  XVIm. — Errors  in  determining  the  physical  properties. — 
It  is  the  rule  in  practical  work  that  two  sides  of  the  test-piece  are 
not  machined,  and  hence  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  perfectly  accu- 
rate measurement.  In  order  to  find  how  great  an  effect  may  be 
caused  by  such  errors  and  by  differences  in  machines  and  the 
method  of  operating  them,  the  experiment  was  tried  of  sending  a 
bar  from  six  different  acid  open-hearth  heats  to  six  different  test- 
ing  laboratories.  The  pieces  were  rolled  flats,  2"x  f",  and  each 
series  was  made  up  of  one  piece  from  each  of  the  six  bars. 

All  pieces  were  tested  in  the  shape  in  which  they  left  the  rolls 
without  machining,  and  although  the  edges  were  not  perfectly 
smooth,  they  were  so  nearly  true  that  only  one  operator  referred 
to  any  difficulty  in  making  a  true  measurement.  Table  XVI-V  ex- 
hibits the  results  reported.  The  bars  were  tested  by  The  Central 
Iron  and  Steel  Works,  Harrisburg,  Pa.;  The  Baldwin  Locomotive 
Works,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  The  Pottstown  Iron  Company,  Potts- 
town,  Pa. ;  The  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  The  Car- 


338 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


bon  Steel  Company,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  The  Pennsylvania  Steel 
Company,  Steelton,  Pa.,  but  the  identity  of  the  different  works  is 
concealed  in  the  table  under  the  letters  A,  B,  G,  etc. 

There  are  quite  important  variations  in  every  one  of  the  factors. 
Moreover,  the  divergence  is  not  the  result  of  averaging  erratic  in- 
dividuals, for  whenever  one  average  is  higher  than  another  the  ma- 
jority of  the  bars  are  higher  when  taken  separately.  The  variations 

TABLE  XVI- V. 
Physical  Properties,  as  Determined  by  Different  Laboratories. 

NOTK.— All  bars  were  rolled  flats,  2"x%",  and  were  not  machined. 


Tested  by 

Number  of 

heat. 

A. 

B. 

C. 

D. 

E. 

F. 

10027 

58130 

57880 

58560 

57710 

67980 

59230 

10028 

60790 

60140 

61740 

60080 

60660 

61830 

Ultimate  strength; 
•         pounds  per 
square  inch. 

10030 
10065 
10066 
10072 

63560 
60840 
62840 
61160 

63330 

euro 

62700 
62190 

64530 
62180 
63480 
61730 

63180 
60440 
61970 
61390 

63450 
61290 
62630 
61640 

64280 
62200 
64170 
62110 

Average, 

61220 

61233 

62037 

60795 

61275 

62303 

10027 

42400 

87350 

88900 

87490 

89020 

89730 

10028 

42200 

87940 

41400 

88720 

89730 

41820 

10030 

43620 

40780 

42540 

88940 

40740 

42770 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

10065 
10066 
10072 

41540 
42610 
41400 

88150 
40350 
87650 

42250 
42110 
41770 

88710 
88905 
88710 

40210 
40180 
40950 

41250 
43140 
89860 

Average, 

42295 

88703 

41495 

88579 

40138 

41345 

Elastic  ratio, 

69.1 

63.2 

66.9 

63.5 

65.5 

66.4 

10027 

29.25 

29.00 

80.50 

80.87 

80.75 

29.75 

10028 

30.75 

80.00 

82.00 

29.75 

81.00 

29.60 

Elongation  in 
8  inches  ; 
per  cent. 

10030 
10065 
10066 
10072 

29.00 
29.25 
29.25 
30.00 

29.00 
28.75 
32.25 
83.75 

81.00 
30.50 
80.50 
84.25 

28.12 
80.25 
29.12 
29.37 

29.00 
29.50 
33.25 
80.75 

28.50 
82.50 
29.50 
29.00 

Average, 

29.58 

80.46 

81.46 

29.50 

80.71 

29.79 

10027 

61.8 

61.3 

60.6 

56.2 

54.1 

61.2 

10028 

63.1 

59.7 

62.9 

58.9 

53.8 

62.3 

10030 

60.1 

57.0 

60.0 

55.9 

62.7 

67.8 

Reduction  of  area; 

10065 

61.8 

58.4 

60.6 

66.7 

65.9 

61.6 

per  cent. 

10066 

61.5 

59.9 

60.9 

54.0 

52.5 

60.0 

10072 

61.8 

57.6 

61.2 

67.4 

54.1 

61.3 

Average, 

61.6 

59.0 

61.0 

56.5 

53.8 

60.7 

in  contraction  of  area  may  easily  be  explained,  for  the  determina- 
tion rests  upon  accurate  measurements  of  an  irregular  body.  In 
a  bar  having  an  original  section  of  2"  x  f ",  the  fractured  end  will 
have  a  thickness  of  about  0.20  inch,  and  will  be  of  irregular  form, 
the  sides  being  concave  rather  than  flat.  A  true  estimation  of  the 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE.  339 

broken  area  could  be  made  only  by  the  most  careful  duplicate  read- 
ings and  by  the  aid  of  the  calculus. 

The  variations  in  elongation  may  be  partially  accounted  for  by 
unlike  methods  of  measurement,  for  if  the  original  punch-marks 
be  put  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  bar,  they  will  give  a  different  read- 
ing after  fracture  than  if  they  were  put  in  the  center  line,  owing 
to  the  unequal  distortion  of  the  bar.  This  complication  would  not 
occur  in  a  round  test-piece.  The  differences  in  ultimate  strength 
and  elastic  limit  are  due  in  some  measure  to  slight  variations  in  the 
original  measurements  of  the  bar.  The  elastic  limit  was  found  by 
noting  the  "drop  of  the  beam,"  this  being  the  universal  practice  in 
American  steel  works  and  rolling  mills. 

The  statement  that  this  method  is  especially  inaccurate  is  open 
to  debate.  In  Table  XVI-V  the  elongation,  as  determined  by  dif- 
ferent observers,  varies  from  29.50  to  31.46  per  cent.,  these  figures 
being  in  the  ratio  of  100  to  106.6,  or  a  range  of  error  of  6.6  per 
cent.  The  reduction  of  area  varies  from  53.8  to  61.6  per  cent.,  a 
ratio  of  100  to  114.5,  or  a  range  of  error  of  14.5  per  cent.  The 
elastic  ratio  varies  from  63.2  to  69.1  per  cent.,  a  ratio  of  100  to 
109.3,  or  a  range  of  error  of  9.3  per  cent.  Thus  the  determination 
of  the  elastic  ratio  is  much  more  accurate  than  the  results  on  con- 
traction of  area,  and  nearly  as  accurate  as  the  results  on  elonga- 
tion, both  determined  by  exact  measurements  made  on  the  piece 
when  at  rest.  It  would  be  in  order  for  reformers  to  apply  their 
energies  to  the  accurate  determination  of  the  reduction  of  area  and 
the  elongation,  instead  of  trying  to  substitute  a  new  method  for  de- 
termining the  elastic  limit,  especially  when  this  method  has  been 
publicly  branded  as  inaccurate.* 

As  a  rule,  the  autographic  device  gives  a  slightly  lower  reading 
than  the  drop  of  the  beam ;  thus  Gus.  C.  Henningf  gives  the  deter- 
minations of  the  elastic  limit  on  a  series  of  tests,  as  found  by  the 
two  methods.  I  have  averaged  the  list  of  heats  where  both  read- 
ings are  given,  and  in  thirty-eight  cases  the  autographic  record 
was  46.6  per  cent,  of  the  ultimate  strength,  while  the  beam  dropped 
at  52.9  per  cent. ;  in  the  annealed  bar  the  first  method  gave  51.6  per 
cent,  and  the  second  56.9  per  cent.  Such  a  marked  difference  is 
not  found  in  all  cases,  as  shown  by  Table  XVI- W,  which  gives  the 

*  Lewis.    Trans.  Am.  Soc.  Civil  Eng.  Vol.  XXXIII,  p.  351. 
t  Trans.  Am.  Soc.  Mech.  Eng.,  Vol.  XIII,  p.  572. 


340 


METALLURGY  OF  IRO!ST  AND  STEEL. 


results  obtained  by  E.  A.  Ouster  at  The  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works. 
In  the  case  of  the  slow  speed  there  is  less  difference  between  the 
two  determinations  of  the  elastic  limit  than  is  shown  by  Henning, 
while  with  the  fast  speed  there  is  more.  The  influence  of  the  pull- 
ing speed  upon  the  recorded  physical  properties  is  considered  in  the 
next  section. 

TABLE  XVI-W. 

Parallel  Determinations  of  the  Elastic  Limit  by  the  Autographic 
Device  and  by  the  Drop  of  the  Beam.* 


No.  of  tests. 

Pulling  speed. 

Ultimate 
strength  ; 
pounds 
per  sq.  in. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per  square 
in.  as  determined  by 

Elastic  ratio; 
per  cent.,  as 
determined  by 

Auto- 
graphic 
device. 

Fall  of 
beam. 

Auto- 
graphic 
device. 

Fall  of 
beam. 

6 
8 

1  inch  in  8  minutes. 
4  inches  in  1  minute. 

56820 
58870 

86120 
85890 

87510 
40580 

68.6 
61.0 

66.0 
68.8 

The  determination  of  the  elastic  limit  was  discussed  in  The 
Engineering  News,  of  July  25,  1895.  After  reviewing  the  argu- 
ments presented  by  several  engineers,  the  following  conclusions  were 
reached : 

"Having  shown  the  impossibility  of  determining,  by  micrometric 
measurement,  the  elastic  limit,  when  it  is  defined  as  the  point  at 
which  the  rate  of  stretch  begins  to  change,  and  the  extreme  vari- 
ability of  the  position  of  the  so-called  'yield-point'  with  the  method 
of  running  the  machine  and  with  the  method  of  measuring  and  re- 
cording results,  had  we  not  better  drop  these  new  definitions  and 
methods  of  attempting  to  locate  points  whose  position  is  so  ex- 
tremely variable,  and  whose  determination  depends  so  largely  upon 
the  personal  equation  of  the  observer,  and  return  to  the  good,  old- 
fashioned  definitions  and  methods?  If,  for  scientific  purposes, 
there  is  any  need  for  determining  microscopically  that  point  at 
which  the  rate  of  stretch  begins  microscopically  to  change,  let  us 
call  that  point  the  'limit  of  proportionality/  as  Bauschinger  did, 
and  leave  its  determination  to  the  college  professors. 

"Let  us  keep  the  old  term  elastic  limit  with  its  old  significance 
as  that  point  at  which  a  permanent  set  visible  to  the  naked  eye 
takes  place,  at  which  the  rate  of  stretch  increases  so  that  the  in- 


*  From  E.  A.  Ouster,  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


THE  HISTORY  AND  SHAPE  OF  THE  TEST-PIECE. 


341 


crease  may  be  (albeit  with  some  difficulty)  distinguishable  by  the 
use  of  a  pair  of  dividers  and  a  magnifying  glass,  or  more  easily  and 

TABLE  XVI-X. 
Effect  of  Variations  in  the  Pulling  Speed  of  Testing  Machine. 

NOTK.— Tests  were  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 


Number 
of  bars. 

Polling  speed  ;  inches  per  minute. 

4.50 

8.00 

0.67 

0.88 

0.07 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

1 
3 
8 

6 
6 
7 
8 
0 
10 

61060 
61140 
61610 
61500 
61870 
60200 
60620 
60520 
61200 
61030 

61360 
60760 
61230 
61150 
61580 
59720 
60140 
59580 
61100 
60100 

60640 
59200 
59910 
58950 
59960 
59040 
59290 
58760 
60000 
59480 

60240 
59440 
59680 
59620 
59910 
68240 
69880 
58400 
59620 
59340 

59660 
59100 
69100 
69220 
69760 
69100 
68200 
68160 
68870 
69100 

Av. 

61075 

60672 

69523 

69887 

69027 

Elastic  limit;  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

1 
8 

5 
6 

8 
0 
10 

46640 
44070 
46920 
46730 
45080 
44360 
47500 
44680 
45000 
46100 

44930 
43500 
44680 
45560 
46300 
43400 
43670 
44680 
43440 
43940 

43240 
44810 
42220 
42720 
43120 
41690 
43090 
42650 
42380 
43120 

42650 
41980 
41270 
41880 
43430 
40810 
41880 
41870 
40860 
41600 

89610 
89480 
89250 
40300 
40480 
89240 
88950 
89720 
89720 
89720 

Av. 

45708 

44410 

42904 

41768 

89647 

Elastic  ratio;  per  ct. 

Av. 

74.84 

73.20 

72.08 

70.32 

67.17 

Elongation  in  8 
inches  ;  per  cent. 

1 
2 
8 
4 
5 
6 
7 

9 
10 

29.50 
82.00 
81.75 
27.75 
81.50 
80.50 
29.50 
81.00 
80.00 
29.65 

28.25 
30.50 
82.00 
27.00 
80.50 
80.75 
80.50 
28.50 
82.00 
81.75 

81.00 
80.75 
27.50 
28.50 
30.00 
29.00 
81.00 
29.25 
28.00 
29.50 

28.00 
29.50 
29.25 
28.00 
29.50 
80.00 
81.00 
28.00 
80.00 
80.00 

84.00 
81.25 
81.25 
82.25 
80.25 
82.00 
82.75 
82.75 
80.75 
82.00 

Av. 

80.32 

80.18 

29.45 

29.33 

81.93 

Reduction  of  area  ; 
per  cent. 

1 
2 
8 
4 

6 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

66.1 
67.1 
62.3 
64.9 
63.3 
66.0 
66.8 
62.4 
64.5 
66.2 

65.9 
66.0 
62.4 
65.0 
64.4 
66.2 
66.3 
62.6 
63.5 
66.0 

66.7 
66.0 
63.9 
64.9 
64.2 
66.7 
67.4 
68.0 
64.3 
66.1 

67.0 
66.7 
63.2 
65,9 
63.7 
67.8 
67.1 
63.1 
65.8 
67.1 

68.4 
67.1 
63.4 
67.7 
65.0 
66.0 
67.9 
64.8 
66.9 
67.6 

Av. 

64.96 

64.83 

65.83 

65.69 

66.48 

certainly  by  the  drop  of  the  beam,  or  by  the  increase  in  the  number 
of  turns  of  the  crank  needed  to  produce  a  given  increase  in  stretch. 


342  METALLURGY    OF    IKON    AND    STEEL. 

"For  the  purpose  of  determining  this  elastic  limit  let  the  testing 
machine  be  run  by  hand  until  the  limit  is  passed  and  the  record 
taken  (or  run  by  hand  between  the  load  of  30,000  pounds  and  the 
elastic  limit),  and  then  let  the  power  gear  be  thrown  in  and  the 
test  completed  in  the  present  rapid  fashion.  Since  the  term  'yield 
point7  is  quite  recent,  and  has  no  meaning  essentially  different 
from  the  words  'elastic  limit'  in  time-honored  practice,  why  need 
it  be  used  at  all?" 

These  conclusions  represent  common  sense  in  their  summary 
dealing  with  the  petty  theories  of  enthusiasts,  who  are  so  wrapped 
up  in  the  accurate  determination  of  a  micrometrical  measurement 
that  they  ignore  the  more  important  variations  inherent  in  the 
method  itself,  not  to  mention  the  still  more  overwhelming  differ- 
ences caused  by  changes  in  the  history  and  shape  of  the  material. 
I  do  not  see,  however,  why  it  is  necessary  to  drive  a  machine  by 
hand.  This  is  a  confession  of  lack  of  ingenuity  which  is  not  credi- 
table to  engineering  science. 

SEC.  XVIn. — Variations  in  the  putting  speed. — To  find  the  ef- 
fect of  variations  in  pulling  speed,  ten  different  rivet  rods  were  taken 
from  an  acid  open-hearth  heat.  From  each  rod  five  bars  were  cut, 
and  each  one  was  broken  at  a  different  speed.  Table  XVI-X  shows 
that  a  decrease  in  pulling  speed  is  accompanied  by  a  decrease  in 
ultimate  strength,  elastic  limit,  elastic  ratio,  and  elongation.  The 
differences  are  not  extreme,  but  their  regularity  makes  the  testi- 
mony almost  conclusive.  In  the  slowest  speed  there  is  an  excep- 
tion to  this  rule  in  a  marked  increase  of  extension,  and  inspection 
shows  that  this  does  not  arise  from  an  average  of  erratic  members, 
but  from  an  increase  in  every  bar.  This  point  is  not  of  great  im- 
portance, since  it  requires  nearly  an  hour  to  break  a  bar  of  steel 
at  this  speed.  The  reduction  of  area  remains  practically  constant 
throughout  the  series.  The  natural  result  of  this  investigation 
would  be  a  tendency  toward  higher  breaking  speeds,  but  this  may 
be  carried  too  far,  since  with  fast  work  it  is  more  difficult  to>  take 
accurate  readings. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE    INFLUENCE   OF    CERTAIN   ELEMENTS    ON   THE   PHYSICAL   PROP- 
ERTIES OF  STEEL. 

Numerous  investigations  have  been  conducted  to  discover  the  in- 
fluence of  different  elements  on  the  strength  and  ductility  of  steel, 
a  common  method  being  to  melt  definite  combinations  in  crucibles 
and  ascribe  the  physical  result  to  the  known  variables.  This  sys- 
tem will  discover  the  effect  of  large  proportions  of  certain  elements, 
but  it  is  worthless  in  the  accurate  valuation  of  minute  proportions 
of  the  metalloids,  since  small  variations  in  the  chemical  equation 
are  masked  by  irregularities  in  casting  and  working.  The  problem 
is  also  complicated  by  numberless  combinations  of  different  percent- 
ages of  the  various  elements,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  groups 
where  there  is  only  one  variable.  It  has,  therefore,  not  infrequently 
happened  that  inconclusive  data  have  been  joined  to  bad  logic,  and 
the  conclusions  of  investigators  have  been  at  variance  with  the 
teachings  of  experience.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  enumerate  all  the 
deductions  of  experimenters,  but  to  give  a  general  survey  of  the 
situation.  In  Part  I  each  element  is  considered  separately,  and 
the  views  therein  advanced  are  in  accord  with  the  general  consensus 
of  opinion  among  metallurgists.  Part  II  gives  the  result  of  special 
investigations  into  the  effect  of  carbon,  manganese,  and  phosphorus 
and  a  determination  of  the  strength  of  pure  iron. 


PAST  I. 

EFFECT  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  AS  DETERMINED  BY  GENERAL  EXPERI- 
ENCE AND  BY  THE  USUAL  METHODS  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

SECTION  XVIIa. — Carbon. — The  ordinary  steel  of  commerce  is 
carbon-steel;  in  other  words,  the  distinctive  features  of  two  differ- 
ent grades  are  due  to  variations  in  carbon  rather  than  to  differences 
in  other  elements.  There  are  often  wide  variations  in  manganese, 

343 


344  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

phosphorus,  silicon,  etc.,  but  the  carbon  usually  determines  the  class 
in  which  the  material  belongs.  This  selection  of  carbon  as  the  one 
important  variable  arose  from  the  fact  that  primitive  Tubal  Cains 
could  produce  a  hard  cutting  instrument  with  no  apparatus  save  a 
wrought-iron  bar  and  a  pile  of  charcoal;  and  the  natural  develop- 
ments in  manufacture  have  led  to  the  conclusion  that  a  given  con- 
tent of  carbon  will  confer  greater  hardness  and  strength,  with  less 
accompanying  brittleness,  than  any  other  element. 

There  are  exceptions  to  this  statement  in  hard  steels  made  by 
manganese,  chromium,  or  tungsten,  but  it  is  true  in  soft  steel.  It 
follows  that  no  limit  should  be  placed  to  the  carbon  allowed  in  struc- 
tural material  if  a  given  tensile  strength  is  specified.  Every  incre- 
ment of  carbon  increases  the  hardness,  the  brittleness  under  shock, 
and  the  susceptibility  to  crack  under  sudden  cooling  and  heating, 
while  it  reduces  the  elongation  and  reduction  of  area,  but  the 
strength  must  be  bought  at  a  certain  cost,  and  this  cost  is  less  in 
the  case  of  carbon  than  with  any  other  element. 

SEC.  XVIIb. — Silicon. — The  contradictory  testimony  concerning 
the  effect  of  silicon  on  steel  has  been  summarized  by  Prof.  Howe.* 
He  finds  no  proof  that  silicon  has  any  bad  effect  upon  the  ductility 
or  toughness  of  steel,  and  concludes  that  the  bad  quality  of  certain 
specimens  is  not  necessarily  due  to  the  silicon  content.  A  Bessemer 
steel  with  high  silicon  is  sometimes  produced  by  hot  blowing,  but  it 
is  wrong  to  compare  such  metal  with  the  common  product  and 
ascribe  all  differences  to  the  chemical  formula,  rather  than  to  the 
circumstances  which  created  that  formula. 

Since  the  appearance  of  The  Metallurgy,  an  able  paper  has  been 
written  by  Hadfield,f  who  produced  alloys  with  different  contents 
of  silicon  by  melting  wrought-iron  and  ferro-silicon  in  crucibles. 
The  metal  was  cast  in  ingots  2J  inches  square,  and  these  were  re- 
duced by  forging  to  1  j  inches  square  and  rolled  into  bars  1 J  inches 
in  diameter.  In  the  list  of  analyses  in  the  paper  referred  to,  there 
are  slight  differences  in  the  composition  of  drillings  from  different 
bars  of  the  same  ingot,  but,  in  Table  XVII-A,  I  have  averaged  the 
results  of  each  cast  so  as  to  show  the  nature  of  the  material  under 
investigation,  and  have  given  the  physical  results  on  the  rolled  bars 
in  their  natural  state. 

*  The  Metallurgy  of  Steel,  p.  36. 

t  On  Alloys  of  Iron  and  Silicon.    Journal  I.  and  8.  I.,  Vol.  II,  1889,  p.  222. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


345 


TABLE  XVII-A. 
Physical  Properties  of  Silicon  Steels.* 


.14 
.18 
.19 
.20 
.20 
.21 


m 


.21 
.77 
1.57 
2.14 
2.67 
8.40 
4.30 
6.08 


Man 
cen 


.14 
.21 


.25 
.29 
.36 


.08 


.04 


N 


73920 

76160 

84000 

88480 

95200 

106400 

109760 

107520 


2 

J 

—  - 

!& 

3  "Q 


49280 
56000 
62720 
69440 
71680 
78400 
100800 
not  visible 


C 

!i 

- 


66.7 
73.5 
74.7 
78.5 
75.3 
73.7 
91.8 


•Si 


Elonga 
inche 


80.05 
29.50 
81.10 
18.48 
17.60 
11.10 
0.004 
0.30 


eductlo 
per  cen 


64.54 
54.54 
50.58 
28.02 
24.36 
14.22 
0.20 
0.70 


Ill 

3>*Tj  oQ 

«§§, 


56000 
64960 
73920 
76160 
71680 
87360 
85120 
56000 


Bars  Af  B,  C  and  D  showed  a  silky  fracture  after  breaking,  but 
with  higher  silicon  the  crystallization  was  very  coarse.  They  also 
showed  no  great  hardening  or  brittleness  after  being  quenched  in 
water  from  a  yellow  heat,  while  even  the  higher  alloys,  although 
made  quite  stiff  by  the  chilling,  were  not  rendered  very  hard,  and 
preserved  a  good  degree  of  ductility.  With  the  exception  of  A,  the 
ingots  forged  well  even  up  to  5.5  per  cent,  of  silicon,  but  all  at- 
tempts at  welding  were  unsatisfactory. 

These  results  are  of  value  in  showing  that  silicon  cannot  be 
classed  among  the  highly  injurious  elements,  for  in  similar  propor- 
tion phosphorus  and  sulphur,  would  be  out  of  the  question,  man- 
ganese would  give  a  worthless  metal,  and  carbon  would  change  the 
bar  to  pig-iron.  It  will  be  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  small 
quantities  cannot  exert  a  very  deleterious  influence. 

The  only  bar  in  the  table  with  a  moderate  content  of  silicon  is 
A  with  .21  per  cent.,  and  this  ingot  did  not  forge  well  and  did  not 
weld,  but  the  manganese  was  only  .14  per  cent.,  while  the  sulphur 
was  .08  per  cent.,  and  the  phosphorus  .05  per  cent.  It  would  hardly 
be  expected  that  such  metal  would  forge  well,  and  it  is  not  singular 
that  it  gave  trouble,  while  other  experimenters  have  forged  and 
welded  steel  with  similar  contents  of  silicon  when  the  associated 
elements  were  in  proper  proportion. 

In  the  whole  series  the  work  done  upon  the  ingot  in  reducing  it 


*  Condensed  from  Hadfield.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  H,  1889,  p.  222. 


346 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


from  2£  inches  square  to  1J  inches  in  diameter  was  wholly  insuf- 
ficient to  give  a  proper  structure,  so  that  little  weight  can  be  at- 
tached to  the  determination  on  any  one  bar.  This  renders  it  dif- 

TABLE  XVII-B. 
Influence  of  Silicon  on  the  Tensile  Strength. 


Chemical 

composition ; 

per  cent. 


C    Si   Mn 


-gffl 

843 


s 


.77 
1.57 
2.14 
2.67 
3.40 
4.30 
5.08 


.21 
.28 
.25 
.25 
.29 
.3IJ 


76160 
84000 
88480 
95200 
106400 
109760 
107520 


7840 
12320 
19040 
30240 
33600 
31360 


6840 


17040 
27240 
26600 
23360 


0.80 
1.37 
1.90 
2.63 
3.53 
4.31 


85 
75 
90 
104 
75 
54 


ficult  to  calculate  the  exact  effect  of  silicon,  especially  since  the  bars 
A  and  B  present  contradictions.  Thus  B  contains  .04  per  cent, 
more  carbon  than  A,  .07  per  cent,  more  manganese,  and  .56  per 
cent,  more  silicon,  and  yet  has  only  224:0  pounds  more  tensile 
strength  per  square  inch. 

Inspection  shows  that  A  is  probably  the  erratic  member,  for  its 
strength  is  too  high  for  its  composition.  Moreover,  the  annealed 
bars  show  a  loss  in  strength  of  24  per  cent,  from  the  natural  in  A, 
while  bars  B,  C  and  D  give  15,  12  and  14  per  cent.,  respectively, 
so  that  it  is  likely  that  A  is  finished  at  too  low  a  temperature  and 
has  a  higher  strength  than  really  belongs  to  it.  For  this  reason  it 
will  be  set  aside  as  abnormal,  and  in  Table  XVII-B  the  bar  B  is 
taken  as  a  basis  from  which  to  investigate  the  differences  in  ten- 
sile strength.  No  allowance  is  made  for  manganese,  since  this  ele- 
ment is  fairly  constant  in  all  the  specimens,  but  a  value  of  1000 
pounds  per  square  inch  is  given  to  carbon,  according  to  the  re- 
sults given  in  Section  XVIIm.  After  this  allowance  the  remain- 
ing variations  are  ascribed  to  silicon,  but  as  no  data  are  at  hand 
concerning  the  content  of  phosphorus,  the  answer  is  open  to  ques- 
tion. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


347 


TABLE  XVII-C. 
Properties  of  Steels  Containing  from  .01  to  .50  Per  Cent.  Silicon.* 

NOTE.— All  bars  rolled  well ;  they  bent  well  both  hot  and  cold  except  No.  11,  which 
broke  cold  at  an  angle  of  50°;  they  all  welded  perfectly;  the  differences  in  hard- 
ness were  scarcely  perceptible. 


f 

>f 

i 

l 

r  cent. 

1 

I 

>; 

r  square 

|| 

* 

4* 

og 

I 

49 

•3 

1 

•  *. 

d 

i 

& 

h 

0 

a 

I. 

| 

s 

fe" 

is. 
1!- 

43  flj 

•x 

-  OQ 

11- 

s 
2 

ss 

g& 

Is 

§4$ 

-fi 

So 
o  o 

'I 

'1 

1 

P. 

1 

|| 

1? 

III 

H 

R  P  *a 

g" 

11 

w 

13 

H 

9  *4 

JL 

1 

.010 

.16 

.050 

.000 

.550 

49280 

66394 

74.3 

23.1 

48.8 

2 

.061 

.16 

.028 

.058 

.619 

49750 

70606 

70.3 

20.4 

40.7 

8 

.070 

.15 

.084 

.051 

.500 

47152 

66102 

71.3 

22.9 

51.5 

4 

.092 

.21 

.084 

.064 

.634 

50243 

75398 

66.6 

19.4 

44.1 

5 

.102 

.18 

.028 

.066 

.662 

47622 

75197 

63.4 

20.6 

61.4 

6 

.121 

.19 

.064 

.068 

.576 

50848 

71367 

70 

21.9 

48.7 

7 

.815 

.13 

.028 

.057 

.480 

47690 

65901 

72.4 

24.8 

56.6 

8 

.247 

J9 

.028 

.074 

.642 

49795 

77728 

64.0 

17.6 

49.6 

9 

.820 

.15 

.040 

.081 

.490 

49997 

74435 

67.1 

16.7 

86.1 

10 

.882 

.16 

.042 

.087 

.533 

65373 

79901 

69.3 

18.0 

80.7 

11 

•504 

.18 

.094 

.121 

.455 

59024 

82253 

71.7 

19.4 

84.8 

This  table  cannot  be  called  conclusive,  for  the  carbon  was  deter- 
mined by  color  instead  of  combustion,  the  number  of  tests  is  al- 
together too  limited,  and  no  account  is  taken  of  phosphorus,  but 
there  seems  to  be  a  strengthening  effect  of  about  80  pounds  for 
every  .01  per  cent,  of  silicon  up  to  a  content  of  4  per  cent.,  while 
beyond  this  there  is  a  deterioration  of  the  metal,  as  shown  in  Table 
XVII-A.  This  would  mean  an  increase  of  only  1600  pounds  for 
.20  per  cent,  silicon,  being  one-third  more  than  that  produced  by 
.01  per  cent,  of  carbon.  (See  Table  XVII-U.)  It  has  been  noted 
that  A,  which  was  the  only  bar  containing  an  ordinary  percentage 
of  silicon,  gave  abnormal  results  in  tensile  strength,  but  this  cannot 
be  due  to  silicon,  for  the  elastic  ratio  is  normal,  the  elongation 
fair,  and  the  reduction  of  area  good. 

An  investigation  into  the  effect  of  ordinary  proportions  of  silicon 
was  conducted  by  Turner,  and  Table  XVII-C  gives  the  results  as 
published  in  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  II,  1888,  p.  302.  There  are 
variations  in  the  elements  other  than  silicon,  and  the  bad  charac- 
ter of  No.  11  may  be  explained  by  its  high  content  of  phosphorus. 
For  better  comparison  Table  XVII-D  gives  the  averages  of  the 


*  Report  of  British  Association,  1888. 


348 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


first  four  tests,  all  of  which  are  below  .10  per  cent,  in  silicon,  and 
the  last  three,  which  are  above  .30  per  cent. 

TABLE  XVII-D. 
Physical  Properties  of  Low-Silicon  and  High-Silicon  Steels. 


-2 

Composition;  percent. 

1 

I 

4 

| 

a 

..S? 

£^J 

-U  ®  O 

P 
1*1 

if 

gj 

•^  n 

fn  rt 

&  fi 

c^ 

^"gs 

0§ 

^  S 

S  ® 

p. 

S2 

"in  SPO 

5«S 

S® 

Co 

§2 

o 

0B 

c3  Q  Q 

—  «    PlQQ 

&  QJ 

^  .9 

fl?   Q. 

8 

fc 

Si.        C. 

S, 

P. 

Mn. 

H 

B 

W 

fl 

P3 

i 

4 

.056       .170 

.061 

.058 

.576 

49106 

69675 

70.5 

21.5 

46.8 

2 

8 

.402        .160 

.059 

.096 

.498 

54798 

78863 

69.5 

18.0 

83.9 

The  effect  caused  by  elements  other  than  silicon  may  be  calcu- 
lated, carbon  being  taken  at  1000  pounds  for  .01  per  cent.,  and 
phosphorus  at  1000.  The  result  is  as  follows : 


Group  II  should  be  stronger  than  Group  I. 
On  account  of  phosphorus,  3.8X1000 


Lbs.  per  sq.  in. 


Group  HI  should  be  weaker  than  Group  I. 

On  account  of  carbon,  1X1000 1000 

Net  strengthening  from  constituents  other  than  silicon 2800 

Strengthening  from  all  constituents  including  silicon 9188 

Strengthening  due  to  .35  per  cent,  of  silicon 6388 

Strengthening  due  to  each  .01  per  cent,   of  silicon 183 

This  signifies  that  .20  per  cent,  of  silicon  would  give  an  increase 
in  strength  of  3700  pounds  per  square  inch,  which  is  less  than 
would  be  given  by  .04  per  cent,  of  carbon. 

The  influence  of  silicon  upon  the  tensile  strength  is  often  con- 
founded with  that  of  carbon.  It  is  well  known  that  the  addition  of 
high-silicon  pig-iron  to  a  charge  of  low  steel  strengthens  the  metal 
more  than  a  similar  addition  of  ordinary  pig-iron.  But  the  fact 
is  lost  sight  of  that  this  silicon  prevents  the  burning  of  carbon,  both 
by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  and  by  the  deadening  of  the  bath,  so 
that  the  resultant  metal  is  of  higher  carbon. 

If  the  ordinary  color  method  were  reliable,  this  would  be  detected 
and  proper  credit  given  to  it,  but  often  an  increment  of  .03  per  cent, 
of  carbon  is  not  shown  by  analysis,  so  that  its  effect  upon  the 
strength,  which  will  amount  to  3000  pounds  per  square  inch,  will 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  349 

be  incorrectly  ascribed  to  whatever  small  percentage  of  silicon  has 
survived  the  reactions  during  recarburization.  This  criticism  on 
the  determination  of  carbon  applies  to  the  data  given  in  Tables 
XVII-A  and  XVII-C,  and  renders  the  calculations  thereon  of 
limited  value. 

Many  continental  works  have  habitually  made  rails  with  from 
.30  to  .60  per  cent,  of  silicon,  and  all  requirements  of  strength  and 
ductility  have  been  met.  All  the  authorities  do  not  approve  this  prac- 
tice, and  it  is  stated  by  Ehrenwerth*  that  the  latest  results  are 
rather  in  the  opposite  direction  in  the  case  of  low  steels,  f  but  I  was 
told  some  years  ago,  by  the  manager  of  one  of  the  French  establish- 
ments, that  the  only  way  in  which  he  was  able  to  fill  one  contract 
with  particularly  severe  specifications  was  by  making  the  rails 
contain  from  .30  to  .40  per  cent,  of  silicon,  since  a  less  proportion 
would  not  stand  the  drop-tests.  It  is  not  necessary  to  question 
whether  this  conclusion  was  warranted  or  not ;  it  is  enough  to  know 
that  the  steel  was  of  the  best  quality,  whether  on  account  of  the 
silicon  or  in  spite  of  it. 

Silicon  is  allowed  in  rails  by  Sandberg,  who  writes  as  follows  :£ 
"Silicon  up  to  .30  per  cent.,  with  carbon  .30  to  .40  per  cent.,  does 
not  harden  steel  or  make  it  brittle,  and  diminishes  its  strength  in 
such  small  degree  as  not  to  imperil  the  safety  of  the  rail."  The 
italics  are  my  own,  and  call  attention  to  the  implication  that 
silicon  lowers  the  strength  rather  than  raises  it.  Exceptional  cases 
have  been  recorded  of  soft  steels  with  high  silicon,  like  the  tough 
rail  mentioned  by  Snelus,§  with  carbon  below  .10  per  cent,  and 
silicon  .83  per  cent.  It  must  be  considered,  however,  that  although 
this  might  have  been  very  tough  for  a  rail,  it  does  not  follow  that 
it  was  very  tough  for  soft  steel,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  it  could 
not  have  been  bad  or  brittle. 

Knowing  the  relative  effect  of  impurities  upon  hard  and  soft 
steels,  the  assumption  would  be  justified  that  low-carbon  metal 
could  contain  a  larger  percentage  of  silicon  than  higher  steel,  but 
structural  steels  do  not  often  contain  over  .05  per  cent,  of  silicon, 
while  usually  they  hold  less  than  .03  per  cent.  Tool  steel  is  sub- 

*  Das  Berg-  und  Hiittentoesen  auf  der  Weltausstellung  in  Chicago,  1895. 
t  See  page  78,  ante. 

$  Proc.  English  Inst.  Mech.  Eng.,  1890,  p.  301. 

§  On  the  Chemical  Composition  and  Testing  of  Steel  Rails.  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol. 
II,  1882,  p.  583. 


350  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

jected  to  the  most  severe  of  all  tests  in  the  exposure  of  a  hardened 
edge  to  the  blows  of  a  hammer  or  the  shocks  of  a  planer.  The  re- 
quirements of  general  practice  unconsciously  evolved  the  formula 
for  such  metal,  requiring  low  phosphorus,  low  sulphur  and  low 
manganese.  In  this  process  of  natural  selection  no  mention  was 
made  of  silicon.  Some  makers  try  to  keep  it  as  low  as  possible,  but 
a  large  part  of  the  best  steel  has  regularly  contained,  year  after 
year,  from  .20  to  .80  per  cent,  of  this  element. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  testimony,  it  is  firmly  believed  by  many 
practical  metallurgists  that  the  presence  of  even  .03  per  cent,  ma- 
terially injures  the  quality  of  soft  steel.  I  cannot  positively  assert 
the  contrary,  but  I  believe  that  the  effects  ascribed  to  silicon  may  be 
due  to  the  conditions  of  manufacture  which  gave  rise  to  it.  These 
conditions  might  be  fatal  under  one  practice,  as,  for  instance,  when 
ingots  are  rolled  directly  into  plates,  while  they  might  be  harmless, 
or  even  beneficent,  when  an  ingot  is  roughed  down  and  reheated. 
The  opinions  of  practical  men  are  sometimes  of  more  value  than  the 
learned  conclusions  of  theorists,  and  must  never  be  ignored,  but 
they  are  not  always  inerrant. 

SEC.  XVIIc. — Influence  of  manganese. — Spiegel-iron  or  ferro- 
manganese  is  added  to  a  heat  of  steel  at  the  time  of  tapping  in 
order  that  it  may  seize  the  oxygen,  which  is  dissolved  in  the  bath, 
and  transfer  it  to  the  slag  as  oxide  of  manganese;  but  this  reaction 
is  not  perfect,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  common  steels 
contain  a  certain  percentage  of  oxygen.  Steel  low  in  phosphorus 
and  sulphur  requires  less  manganese  than  impure  metal,  although  it 
is  difficult  to  see  why  there  should  be  less  oxygen  to  counteract,  and 
this  indicates  that  the  manganese  prevents  the  coarse  crystallization 
which  the  impurities  would  otherwise  induce. 

Besides  conferring  the  quality  of  hot  ductility,  manganese  also 
raises  the  critical  temperature  to  which  it  is  safe  to  heat  the  steel, 
for  just  as  it  resists  the  separation  of  the  crystals  in  cooling  from 
a  liquid,  so  it  opposes  their  formation  when  a  high  thermal  altitude 
augments  the  molecular  mobility.  These  two  qualities  render  man- 
ganese one  of  the  most  valuable  factors  in  the  making  of  steel,  al- 
though it  has  been  used  too  freely  in  some  cases.  Years  ago  it  was 
regarded  as  a  panacea  for  all  bad  practices  in  the  Bessemer  and  the 
rolling  mill,  and  steel  often  contained  from  1.25  to  2  per  cent,  of 
manganese,  but  it  was  soon  discovered  that  such  rails  were  brittle 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  351 

under  shock,  so  that  the  permissible  maximum  has  been  gradually 
lowered,  and  the  standard  product  of  the  present  day  contains 
from  .70  to  1  per  cent.  In  higher  steels  the  same  lesson  has 
been  learned,  but  in  this  case  the  necessity  of  a  low  content  is  far 
more  marked,  since  a  percentage  which  is  perfectly  harmless  in  un- 
hardened  steel  will  cause  cracking  if  the  metal  be  quenched  in 
water. 

In  structural  metal  there  is  no  quenching  to  be  done  and  the  line 
of  maximum  manganese  need  not  be  drawn  too  low.  It  is  more 
convenient  to  produce  a  higher  tensile  strength  by  the  use  of  spiegel- 
iron  than  with  ordinary  pig-iron,  since  manganese  deadens  the 
metal  and  prevents  the  oxidation  of  the  carbon.  Thus  an  in- 
creased strength  resulting  from  the  addition  of  more  recarburizer 
is  usually  accompanied  by  an  increase  in  the  manganese,  and  it  is 
currently  assumed  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  extra  strength  is 
due  to  the  higher  percentage  of  this  element.  In  great  measure 
this  is  an  error,  for  the  increase  in  carbon  is  often  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  the  change. 

Ferro-manganese  containing  80  per  cent,  of  manganese  holds 
about  5  per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  since  one-third  of  the  manganese 
is  lost  during  the  reaction  while  very  little  carbon  is  burned,  it  fol- 
lows that  §X80=53  points  of  manganese  will  be  added  to  the 
steel  for  every  5  points  of  carbon.  Thus,  if  the  content  of  man- 
ganese in  any  heat  be  raised  .20  per  cent,  by  an  increase  in  the 
recarburizer,  there  will  at  the  same  time  be  an  increment  of  .02 
per  cent,  of  carbon.  This  slight  change  in  carbon  will  not  always 
be  detected  by  the  color  method,  particularly  as  an  increase  in  man- 
ganese interferes  with  the  accuracy  of  the  comparison  by  altering 
the  tint  of  the  solution,  and  so  the  effect  of  this  carbon,  representing 
an  increase  in  strength  of  2400  pounds  per  square  inch,  is  often 
ascribed  to  the  increment  of  manganese.  It  is  necessary,  therefore, 
to  compare  steels  where  the  composition  is  thoroughly  known,  to 
find  the  effect  of  this  element. 

It  is  currently  believed  that  manganese  reduces  the  ductility  of 
steel,  but  Table  XVII-E  will  show  that  the  effect  is  not  well  marked. 
This  table  is  made  by  grouping  heats  of  the  same  general  character 
and  of  about  the  same  strength,  and  separating  them  into  two  classes 
according  to  their  manganese  content.  No  arbitrary  line  is  drawn 
between  a  high  and  low  percentage,  but  each  group  is  divided  so 


352 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


that  the  number  is  as  nearly  equal  as  possible  on  each  side.  An  un- 
equal number  is  due  solely  to  the  fact  that  several  heats  have  the 
same  content,  and  these  must  all  be  placed  either  on  one  or  the  other 
side  of  the  line. 

TABLE  XVII-E. 

Properties  with  Different  Contents  of  Manganese. 

Made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 


o|2 

A 

. 

0? 

ill 

a 

CO 

o3 

fl 

2 

fl 

1 

3  fl  v, 

?~** 

L 

1 

01 

A 

VH 
O 

Iti 

w 

•  #.            • 

Pi 

g& 

*o 

5 

1 

1 

S-i 

o 
•d 

Iff* 

0  fl 

12 

<D 
"S  * 

1 

S  s 

fl  o 

|5 

III 

"£20 

43  9} 

"o  o 
fl  Vl 

S& 
"So  ^ 

"o* 

sl 

8 

o 

N 

a**"* 

o  o> 

5  ® 

g 

1* 

Sft£ 

<?&£ 

Ofl 

n3  CD 

W 

I5 

i 

Acid 

55000  to 
60000 

.08 

Low 
High 

7 

.80 
.87 

57922 
58881 

88698 
88598 

29.91 
28.08 

59.02 
57.07 

66.8 
65.6 

%  diam. 

ii 

Basio 

65000  to 
63000 

.03 

Low 
High 

11 
11 

.44 

.57 

58005 
59563 

88547 
40183 

80.16 
80.86 

60.21 
58.55 

66.5 
67.4 

fa* 

in 

Acid 

60000  to 
65000 

.08 

Low 
High 

16 
14 

.35 
.51 

62180 
62605 

41808 
41169 

28.00 
27.65 

50.89 
54.66 

66.4 
65.8 

Jidlam. 

IV 

Acid 

65000  to 
70000 

.08 

Low 
High 

26 
82 

.51 

.78 

67421 
68192 

43923 
45854 

25.96 
25.82 

51.29 
51.50 

65.1 
67.2 

%  diam. 

V 

Acid 

70000  to 
75000 

.08 

Low 
High 

18 
26 

.60 
.91 

72353 
72115 

46836 
48359 

24.23 
24.63 

47.79 
47.73 

64.7 
67.1 

%  diam. 

VI 

Acid 

75000  to 
80000 

.08 

Low 

High 

11 
11 

.65 

.84 

77520 

78083 

49411 
50226 

22.34 
23.63 

44.42 

48.49 

63.7 
64.3 

&  diam. 

VII 

Acid 

80000  to 
85000 

.08 

Low 
High 

9 
9 

.68 

.82 

81747 
81860 

51219 
52231 

20.63 
22.67 

41.04 
47.75 

62.7 
63.8 

%  diam. 

VIII 

Acid 

85000  to 
90000 

.08 

Low 
High 

5 

5 

.75 

.83 

86460 
88084 

54517 

55409 

20.41 

20.66 

40.56 
41.92 

63.1 
62.9 

^  diam. 

There  is  no  marked  difference  between  the  steels  of  high  and  low 
manganese,  and  the  eight  different  groups  are  so  uniform  that 
the  work  of  chance  must  be  almost  absent.  These  records,  however, 
do  not  take  into  account  the  important  quality  of  resistance  to 
shock.  It  has  always  been  a  problem  to  devise  a  satisfactory  test' 
in  this  direction,  but  the  method  is  yet  to  be  found.  A  few  crude 
experiments  which  I  performed  on  steel  of  high  manganese,  to  see 
how  it  would  act  under  shock,  are  given  in  Table  XVII-F.  The 
bar  was  struck  while  in  tension  with  a  copper  hammer,  each  blow 
being  powerful  enough  to  have  permanently  bent  the  bar  if  it  had 
not  been  continually  straightened  by  the  action  of  the  machine. 
One  of  the  effects  of  this  hammering  is  to  momentarily  loosen  the 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


353 


bar  in  the  grips  and  make  a  sudden  jar  upon  the  piece.  This  action, 
coupled  with  the  stress  upon  the  outside  fibers  and  the  direct  vibra- 
tion, makes  the  test  quite  exhaustive,  although  from  the  difficulty 

TABLE  XVII-F. 

Resistance  to  Shock  of  Steel  Containing  about  1  Per  Cent.  o<f 

Manganese. 

All  tests  #-inch  rolled  rounds,  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 


Ileat  number. 

Manganese; 
per  cent. 

Conditions  under  which  test  was  made. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  Inch. 

1! 

8* 

ll 

§§ 
3 

Reduction  of  area  ; 
per  oent. 

Average  of  two  tests,  pulled  quietly 

71040 

47055 

25.87 

5505 

6960 

1.00 

Average  of  two,  hammered  from  start  to 
finish    

70770 

46380 

26.12 

61.40 

8961 

1.03 

Average  of  two  tests,  pulled  quietly  
Average  of  two,  hammered  from  start  to 
finish    

72175 
71120 

48075 
47330 

27.00 
26.00 

54.98 
59  JO 

6962 

0.94 

Average  of  two  tests,  pulled  quietly  
Average  of  two,  hammered  from  start  to 
finish   

74020 
74490 

48165 
48340 

25.62 
28^0 

52.60 
55.70 

One  bar,  pulled  quietly  .  .  . 

81070 

52880 

22.50 

4360 

One  bar,  hammered  from  elastic  limit  to 
fracture  

80460 

59750 

23.50 

48.80 

6968 

US 

One  bar,  hammered  from  failure  to  fracture, 
One  bar,  began  hammering  at  72000  pounds, 
and  moved  scale  weight  back  as  the 
barweakened  

78050 
69040 

51800 
52760 

19.25 
21.00 

55.80 
47.80 

One  bar,  pulled  quietly  .  . 

67340 

46030 

28  12 

5500 

One  bar,  hammered  from  failure  to  fracture, 

65940 

44430 

28.00 

57.90 

«QC--> 

One  bar,  pulled  quietly  .  . 

66700 

46310 

2600 

5593 

One  bar,  hammered  from  failure  to  fracture, 

67240 

46090 

81.25 

55.60 

6983 

1  08 

One  bar,  pulled  quietly  .  . 

6&7i"»o 

47650 

2600 

5170 

One  bar,  hammered  from  failure  to  fracture, 

70080 

46360 

27.12 

53.70 

of  measuring  the  force  of  impact  it  can  hardly  be  called  practical. 
Some  of  the  bars  were  not  struck  until  "failure/'  or  until  the 
maximum  stress  had  been  reached.  This  was  on  account  of  the 
slipping  or  jumping  above  noted  which  followed  the  hammering  at 
earlier  periods,  and  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  if  a  bar  would 
break  at  all  from  shock,  the  fracture  would  be  likely  to  occur  about 
the  time  when  the  piece  was  under  destructive  tension.  The  ham- 
mering did  not  in  any  case  determine  the  time  of  breakage,  for 
each  piece  gave  as  good  an  elongation  and  reduction  of  area  as  a 


354 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


part  of  the  same  rod  pulled  in  the  usual  manner.  It  is  not  the  in- 
tention to  advocate  the  use  of  such  a  high  content  of  manganese,  for 
the  general  conclusion  of  metallurgists  points  to  as  low  a  propor- 
tion as  will  ensure  good  working  in  the  rolls.  In  the  case  of  ingots 
rolled  directly  into  plates,  the  allowable  content  is  limited  by  the 
requirement  that  the  steel  shall  boil  in  the  molds,  but  it  does  not 
follow,  because  bad  results  accompany  higher  manganese  in  such 
practice,  that  the  quality  of  the  product  is  proportionally  deteri- 
orated when  the  ingot  is  roughed  down  and  reheated. 

The  effect  of  large  proportions  of  manganese  upon  steel  is  one  of 
the  most  curious  phenomena  in  metallurgy.  As  the  content  rises 
over  1.5  or  2  per  cent,  the  metal  becomes  brittle  and  almost  worth- 
less, and  further  additions  do  not  better  the  matter  until  an  alloy  is 
reached  with  about  6  or  7  per  cent,  manganese.  From  this  point  the 
metal  is  not  only  extremely  hard,  but  possesses  the  rather  pecu- 
liar property  of  becoming  very  much  tougher  after  quenching  in 
water,  without  any  great  change  in  hardness.  The  physical  proper- 
ties of  manganese  steel  are  shown  in  Table  XVII-G,  which  is  taken 
from  an  article  by  Hadfield.*  This  alloy  is  used  in  the  making  of 

TABLE  XVII-G. 
Forged  Steel  Containing  from  .83  to  19  Per  Cent.  Manganese,  f 


Composition; 
per  cent. 

Natural. 

Quenched  in 
water. 

Annealed. 

No.  of  sample 

g 

O 

| 

55 

Manganese. 

Ultimate 
strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate 
strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate 
strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation 
in  8  inches  ; 
per  cent. 

1 

.20 

.03 

.83 

73920 

81 

2 

.40 

.15 

2.30 

125440 

6 

8 

.40 

.09 

8.89 

85120 

1 

4 

.52 

.87 

6.95 

56000 

2 

51520 

2 

47040 

2 

6 

.47 

.44 

7.22 

60480 

2 

56000 

2 

60480 

5 

6 

.61 

.30 

9.87 

73920 

5 

87360 

15 

85120 

16 

7 

.85 

.28 

10.60 

76160 

4 

89600 

17 

91840 

17 

8 

1.10 

.16 

12.60 

87360 

2 

120960 

27 

82880 

11 

0 

.92 

.42 

12.81 

87860 

6 

136640 

87 

107520 

20 

10 

C.M 

.28 

14.01 

80640 

2 

150080 

44 

107520 

14 

1.10 

.82 

14.48 

87360 

1 

141120 

87 

109760 

5 

12 

1.24 

.16 

15.06 

109760 

2 

136640 

81 

105280 

2 

13 

1.54 

.16 

18.40 

J14240 

1 

118720 

10 

87360 

1 

14 

1.83 

.26 

18.55 

96320 

I 

..    128200 

5 

J5 

1.60 

m 

19.10 

116480 

182160 

4 

91840 

1 

*  See  also  The  Mineral  Industry,  Vol.  IV,  for  an  essay  on  Alloys  of  Iron,  by  B.  A» 
Hadfield. 
t  Condensed  from  Hadfield,  Journal  I.  and  S.  /.,  Vol.  II,  1888,  p.  70. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  355 

car  wheels,  dredger  links  and  pins,  and  other  articles  where  the 
maximum  of  hardness  must  be  combined  with  toughness.  Its  great 
disadvantage  is  the  difficulty  of  doing  machine  work  upon  it,  for 
the  best  of  hardened  tools  will  rapidly  crumble  and  wear  out.  In 
cases  where  finishing  is  essential  it  is  necessary  to  grind  by  emery 
wheels. 

SEC.  XVIId. — Influence  of  sulphur. — Nothing  is  better  estab- 
lished than  the  fact  that  sulphur  injures  the  rolling  qualities  of 
steel,  causing  it  to  crack  and  tear,  and  lessening  its  capacity  to 
weld.  The  critical  content  at  which  the  metal  ceases  to  be  malleable 
and  weldable  varies  with  every  steel.  It  is  lower  with  each  incre- 
ment of  copper,  higher  with  each  unit  of  manganese,  and  lower  in 
steel  which  has  been  cast  too  hot.  In  the  making  of  steel  for  simple 
shapes,  a  content  of  .10  per  cent,  is  possible,  and  may  be  exceeded 
if  care  be  taken  in  the  heating,  but  for  rails  and  other  shapes  having 
thin  flanges  it  is  advantageous  to  have  less  than  .08  per  cent.,  while 
every  decrease  below  this  point  is  seen  in  a  reduced  number  of  de- 
fective bars.  It  is  impossible  to  pick  out  two  steels  with  different 
contents  of  sulphur  and  say  that  the  influence  of  a  certain  minute 
quantity  can  be  detected,  but  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  the  effect 
of  an  increase  or  decrease  of  .01  per  cent,  will  show  itself  in  the 
long  run,  while  each  .03  per  cent,  will  write  its  history  so  that  he 
who  runs  may  read. 

The  effect  of  sulphur  upon  the  cold  properties  of  steel  has  not 
been  accurately  determined,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  is  unimportant. 
In  common  practice  the  content  varies  from  .02  to  .10  per  cent., 
and  within  these  limits  it  has  no  appreciable  influence  upon  the 
elastic  ratio,  the  elongation,  or  the  reduction  of  area.  It  is  more 
difficult  to  say  that  it  does  not  alter  the  tensile  strength,  for  a 
change  of  one  thousand  pounds  per  square  inch  can  be  caused  by 
many  things.  Webster*  has  stated  that  sulphur  probably  increases 
the  ultimate  strength  at  the  rate  of  500  pounds  per  square  inch  for 
every  .01  per  cent.,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  his  conclusion  is  not 
founded  on  sufficient  premises.  In  rivets,  eye-bars  and  firebox 
steel,  the  presence  of  sulphur  is  objectionable,  for  it  creates  a 
coarse  crystallization  when  the  metal  is  heated  to  a  high  tempera- 
ture, and  reduces  the  toughness  of  the  steel.  In  other  forms  of 

*  Further  Observations  on  the  Relations  between  the  Chemical  Constitution  and  Phys- 
ical Character  of  Steel.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  £.,  Vol.  XXIII,  p.  113. 


356  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

structural  material  the  effect  of  this  element  is  of  little  impor- 
tance. 

SEC.  XVIIe. — Influence  of  phosphorus. — Of  all  the  elements  that 
are  commonly  found  in  steel,  phosphorus  is  the  most  undesirable. 
In  ordinary  proportions  its  influence  is  not  felt  in  a  marked  degree 
in  the  rolling  mill,  for  it  has  no  disastrous  effect  upon  the  tough- 
ness of  red-hot  metal  when  the  content  does  not  exceed  .15  per  cent. 
Its  action  upon  finished  material  may  not  be  dismissed  in  so  few 
words.  Prof.  Howe*  has  gathered  together  the  observations  of  dif- 
ferent investigators,  and  the  evidence  seems  to  prove  that  the  tensile 
strength  is  increased  by  each  increment  of  phosphorus  up  to  a 
content  of  .12  per  cent.,  but  that  beyond  this  point  the  metal  is 
weakened.  Below  this  point  it  is  certain  that  phosphorus  strength- 
ens lows  steels,  both  acid  and  basic.  The  same  certainty  does  not 
pertain  to  any  other  effect  of  this  metalloid.  Prof.  Howef  has 
discussed  the  whole  matter,  and  I  make  quotations  from  The  Metal- 
lurgy of  Steel,  in  the  form  of  a  summary. 

(1)  The  effect  of  phosphorus  on  the  elastic  ratio,  as  on  elonga/- 
tion  and  contraction,  is  very  capricious. 

(2)  Phosphoric  steels  are  liable  to  break  under  very  slight  tensile 
stress  if  suddenly  or  vibratorily  applied. 

(3)  Phosphorus  diminishes  the  ductility  of  steel  under  a  gradu- 
ally applied  load  as  measured  by  its  elongation,  contraction  and 
elastic  ratio  when  ruptured  in  an  ordinary  testing  machine,  but  it 
diminishes  its  toughness  under  shock  to  a  still  greater  degree,  and 
this  it  is  that  unfits  phosphoric  steels  for  most  purposes. 

(4)  The  effect  of  phosphorus  on  static  ductility  appears  to  be 
very  capricious,  for  we  find  many  cases  of  highly  phosphoric  steel 
which  show  excellent  elongation,  contraction  and  even  fair  elastic 
ratio,  while  side  by  side  with  them  are  others  produced  under 
apparently  identical  conditions  but  statically  brittle. 

(5)  If  any  relation  between  composition  and  physical  properties 
is  established  by  experience,  it  is  that  of  phosphorus  in  making 
steel  brittle  under  shock ;  and  it  appears  reasonably  certain,  though 
exact  data  sufficing  to  demonstrate  it  are  not  at  hand,  that  phos- 
phoric steels  are  liable  to  be  very  brittle  under  shock,  even  though 
they  may  be  tolerably  ductile  statically.    The  effects  of  phosphorus 

*  The  Metallurgy  of  Steel,  p.  67,  et  seq.         t  Loc.  cit. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


357 


on  shock-resisting  power,  though  probably  more  constant  than  its 
effects  on  static  ductility,  are  still  decidedly  capricious. 

The  difficulty  of  detecting  a  high  content  of  phosphorus  by 
the  ordinary  system  of  physical  tests  will  be  shown  by  Table 
XVII-H,  which  is  constructed  by  comparing  the  acid  open-hearth 
angles  in  Table  XIV-H,  which  are  of  the  same  ultimate  strength 
and  of  the  same  thickness,  but  which  contain  different  percentages 
of  phosphorus.  The  higher  phosphorus  gives  a  higher  elastic  ratio 

TABLE  XVII-H. 

Properties  of  Low-Phosphorus  and  High-Phosphorus  Steels. 


,5§ 

1 

.ta 

Si 

.2  a 

^M 

o  -r 

II! 

d 

fe 

B-' 

o  d 

J 

It- 

32 

!=«* 

cflrt 

•Og 

Scp,  • 

bfi 

fl  O  O 

.d  S 

8 

fcr   ^  ^ 

Si  *~H 

Si*** 

So| 

3 

o 

1 

11 

H 

2° 

O  <D 

se 

| 
fc 

jll 

|li 

Is 

|Il 

il& 
$-» 

I 

Ato| 

.05  to  .07 
.07  to  .10 

212 
60 

60845 
60064 

40891 
41143 

67.21 
68.50 

29^5 
28^2 

57.4 
68.4 

66000 
to 

II 

A  to  | 

.05  to  .07 
.07  to  .10 

126 
50 

60695 
60583 

89415 
40170 

64.94 
66.30 

29.23 
29.05 

65.6 
56.3 

04000 

III 

A  to  I 

.05  to  .07 
.07  to  .10 

81 
60 

60558 
61049 

88645 
89656 

63.81 
64.96 

28.95 
28.98 

63.8 
64.8 

IV 

tttof 

.05  to  .07 
.07  to  .10 

121 
50 

59906 
69763 

37478 
88338 

62.56 
64.15 

29.32 
29.60 

51.3 
55.3 

64000 
to 

V 

Atof 

.05  to  .07 
.07  to  .10 

40 
25 

65656 
66365 

43713 
44486 

66.58 
67.03 

27.90 
27.19 

55.0 
65.4 

72000 

VI 

Ato* 

.05  to  .07 
.07  to  .10 

29 

39 

65631 
65777 

42191 

42817 

64.28 
65.09 

27.83 
27.49 

68.7 
63.2 

in  all  six  groups,  the  difference  ranging  from  0.45  per  cent,  to  1.59 
per  cent.,  but  the  elongation  and  the  reduction  of  area  are  the  same 
in  the  two  kinds  of  steel.  It  is  the  difference  between  static  and 
shock  ductility  that  makes  phosphoric  steel  so  dangerous.  In  the 
ordinary  testing  machine  there  is  no  important  difference  between 
a  pure  steel  containing  less  than  .04  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  and  a 
common  steel  with  .08  per  cent.,  or  a  bad  steel  with  .10  per  cent. 

Constructive  engineers  and  metallurgists  have  staked  and  lost 
their  reputations  in  promoting  processes  designed  to  make  good 
material  out  of  steel  containing  high  phosphorus.  Many  a  time 
such  metal  has  shown  high  ductility  in  the  testing  machine,  but 
each  time  the  high-phosphorus  metal  has  given  lamentable  failures 


358  METALLURGY  OF  IROX  AXD  STEEL. 

as  soon  as  it  went  beyond  the  watchful  care  of  its  parents  and  its 
nurses.  Numerous  cases  can  be  cited  of  rails,  plates,  etc.,  contain- 
ing from  .10  to  .35  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  which  have  withstood  a 
long  lifetime  of  wear  and  adversity ;  but  in  the  general  use  of  such 
metal  there  has  been  such  a  large  percentage  of  mysterious  break- 
ages that  it  seems  quite  well  proven  that  the  phosphorus  and  the 
mystery  are  the  same. 

Much  information  on  the  effect  of  phosphorus  may  be  gathered 
from  a  study  of  high  steels.  A  severe  trial  is  put  upon  a  cold- 
chisel  or  similar  tool,  and  it  is  undeniable  that  each  increment  of 
phosphorus  has  its  effect  in  rendering  such  a  tool  brittle.  In  this 
case  the  steel  is  quenched  and  it  contains  a  considerable  proportion 
of  carbon,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  effect  of  phos- 
phorus is  different  when  the  carbon  is  high,  even  though  it  is  more 
marked.  Neither  is  there  reason  to  suppose  that  quenching  changes 
its  nature,  for  with  high-phosphorus  steel  of  low  carbon  sudden 
cooling  would  rather  counteract  the  influence  of  phosphorus  than 
enhance  it,  since  it  tends  to  prevent  the  formation  of  coarse  crystals. 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  regularly  increasing  baneful- 
ness  of  phosphorus  as  the  carbon  is  raised  does  not  portray  any 
change  in  nature,  but  that,  although  the  effect  of  the  metalloid  in 
lower  steels  is  obscured,  its  character  is  the  same.  No  line  can  be 
drawn  that  can  be  called  the  limit  of  safety,  since  no  practical  test 
has  ever  been  devised  which  completely  represents  the  effect  of  in- 
cessant tremor.  For  common  structural  material  the  critical  con- 
tent has  been  placed  at  .10  per  cent,  by  general  consent,  but  this 
is  altogether  too  high  for  railroad  bridge  work.  All  that  can  be 
said  is  that  when  all  other  things  are  equal  safety  increases  as  phos- 
phorus decreases,  and  the  engineer  may  calculate  just  how  much  he 
is  willing  to  pay  for  greater  protection  from  accident. 

SEC.  XVIIf. — Influence  of  copper. — The  iron  made  from  the 
ores  of  Cornwall,  Pa,,  contains  from  .75  to  1  per  cent,  of  copper, 
and  large  quantities  of  rails  have  been  made  from  this  iron  alone, 
but  it  has  oftener  been  the  custom  at  Eastern  steel  works  to  use 
from  25  to  50  per  cent,  of  this  iron  in  the  mixture.  Other  deposits 
contain  considerable  quantities  of  this  element,  notably  some  beds 
in  Virginia,  while  the  ores  of  Cuba  give  an  iron  with  about  .10  per 
cent,  of  copper.  Most  of  the  Bessemer  steels  recorded  in  this  book 
contain  from  .30  to  .50  per  cent,  of  copper,  while  much  of  the  open- 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  359 

hearth  steel  is  of  the  same  character,  and  this  will  be  sufficient  proof 
that  the  best  of  steel  may  contain  a  considerable  proportion.  If, 
therefore,  it  appears  from  a  set  of  experiments  that  copper  exerts  a 
bad  effect,  then  one  of  two  things  follows: 

(1)  The  experiments  have  left  some  factor  out  of  the  question. 

(2)  The  maker  of  good  steel  has  some  trick  by  which  he  over- 
comes the  enemy. 

It  would  be  a  cause  for  satisfaction  if  we  could  boast  that  the 
latter  supposition  were  true,  but  we  have  never  known  that  copper 
injured  the  cold  properties  of  steel  in  any  way,  and  no  system  has 
been  devised  to  obviate  its  influence.  Hard  and  soft  steels  of  our 
manufacture  have  found  their  way  into  all  channels  of  trade,  and 
although  many  failures  have  come,  as  they  have  everywhere,  from 
high  carbon,  high  manganese,  or  high  phosphorus,  there  have  been 
no  cases  where  it  was  necessary  to  invoke  the  aid  of  copper.  This 
fact  outranks  and  transcends  in  value  any  limited  series  of  tests 
that  might  be  given.  In  the  same  way  there  is  no  evidence  that 
copper  segregates,  experience  pointing  rather  to  perfect  uniformity. 

Steel  may  contain  up  to  one  per  cent,  of  copper  without  being 
seriously  affected,  but  if  at  the  same  time  the  sulphur  is  high,  say 
.08  to  .10  per  cent.,  the  cumulative  effect  is  too  great  for  molecular 
cohesion  at  high  temperatures  and  it  cracks  in  rolling.  This  tear- 
ing occurs  almost  entirely  in  the  first  passes  of  the  ingot,  so  that 
it  is  of  little  importance  to  the  engineer  who  is  concerned  only  with 
perfect  finished  material.  In  the  purest  of  soft  steels  containing 
not  more  than  .04  per  cent,  of  either  phosphorus  or  sulphur,  the 
influence  of  even  .10  per  cent  of  copper  may  be  detected  in  the 
less  ready  welding  of  seams  during  the  process  of  rolling,  but 
ordinarily  when  the  sulphur  is  below  .05  per  cent,  the  copper  in- 
jures the  rolling  quality  very  little,  even  in  the  proportion  of  .75 
per  cent.  In  all  cases  the  cold  properties  seem  to  be  unaffected. 

The  only  facts  ever  brought  out  against  copper,  as  far  as  I  am 
aware,  are  in  a  paper  by  Stead,*  who  shows  that  steels  containing 
from  0.46  to  2  per  cent,  of  copper  do  not  give  good  results  in 
drawn  wire  when  a  high  percentage  of  carbon  is  also  present,  but 
it  is  stated  that  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  rails  or  plates  are 
affected  injuriously. 

The  quantitative  effect  of  copper  upon  the  tensile  strength  was 

*  Jour.  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  II,  1901,  p.  122. 


360 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


the  subject  of  a  paper  by  Ball  and  Wingham,*  in  which  they  showed 
that  as  much  as  7  per  cent,  could  be  alloyed  to  iron,  and  that  a 
specimen  with  4  per  cent,  forged  well  both  hot  and  cold.  It  was 
found  that  the  alloys  were  very  hard,  so  that  when  the  content  was 
over  7  per  cent,  the  metal  could  not  be  cut  by  a  good  tool.  The 
experiments  showed  a  considerable  increase  in  tensile  strength  in 
the  case  of  higher  copper,  but  no  great  weight  can  be  given  to  the 
determinations,  for  the  methods  used  in  making  the  alloy  and  in 
cutting  the  tests  were  too  crude  for  conclusive  results. 

It  is  not  easy  to  make  a  comparison  between  the  ductility  of 
high-copper  and  low-copper  steels,  for  at  works  using  such  material 
it  is  customary  to  keep  a  fairly  constant  percentage  in  the  mixture 
rather  than  to  vary  between  wide  limits.  A  limited  number  of 
heats  have  been  grouped  together  in  Table  XVII-I,  and  although 
the  list  is  not  as  long  as  might  be  desired,  it  should  be  considered 

TABLE  XVII-I. 
Properties  of  Low-Copper  and  High-Copper  Angles. 

Made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  1893. 


1 

i 

.. 

"2 

J 

4 

1 

| 

Q 

d 

D 

1 

cf 

cog 

a 

| 

5 

S*"i 

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fl 

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.2 

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1 

all 

ill 

8" 

o| 

ol 

s 

g 

S 

111 

to  S  § 

§§ 

73  O 

li 

I 

5 

S 

p 

gp,^ 

S^ 

r-i  P« 

.10 

11 

61376 

44152 

27.52 

66.30 

71.9 

A 

.85 

17 

60283 

43841 

27.88 

59.01 

72.7 

.10 

10 

58965 

42218 

28.85 

55.50 

71.6 

.35 

11 

59630 

43478 

29.02 

57.86 

72.9 

that  the  heats  were  all  made  within  a  short  period  in  the  same 
Bessemer,,  and  were  all  rolled  in  the  same  mill.  No  difference  is 
to  be  found  in  the  ultimate  strength  between  steels  with  high  and 
low  copper,  although  all  the  heats  were  made  in  the  same  way  as 
nearly  as  possible,  the  workmen  not  knowing  either  in  the  Bessemer 
department  or  in  the  rolling  mill  what  kind  of  iron  was  in  use. 

The  high  copper  gives  a  slightly  higher  elastic  ratio,  which  is  a 
benefit,  and  a  better  elongation  and  reduction  of  area.     These  re- 


*  On  the  Influence  of  Copper  on  the  Tensile  Strength  of  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  S.  /.,  Vol. 
1, 1889,  p.  123. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


361 


suits  can  hardly  be  called  conclusive,  for  the  number  of  heats  is 
too  limited,  but  as  the  data  on  high-copper  steels  are  uniform 
with  the  much  larger  number  of  similar  angles  given  in  Table 
XIV-H,  and  as  the  two  separate  averages  for  low  copper  correspond 
so  closely  to  one  another  after  allowance  is  made  for  the  different 
thicknesses,  it  seems  that  the  high  copper  is  not  in  any  way  harmful. 

A  notable  investigation  into  the  effect  of  copper  was  conducted 
by  Mr.  A.  L.  Colby  at  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Works,  and  was  described 
in  The  Iron  Age,  November  30,  1899.  Steel  containing  0.57  per 
cent,  of  copper  was  forged  into  crank  shafts  for  the  United  States 
battleships  and  stood  every  test  required  by  the  Government  speci- 
fications. Another  ingot  was  forged  into  gun  tubes  for  6-inch  guns 
for  the  United  States  Navy,  and  fulfilled  every  requirement  of  the 
department.  Other  exhaustive  tests  were  made  on  plates  and  all 
the  results  pointed  the  same  way. 

SEC.  XVIIg. — Influence  of  aluminum. — It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  discuss  at  length  the  effect  of  aluminum  upon  steel,  for  although 
it  is  often  used  to  quiet  the  metal,  it  unites  with  the  oxygen  of  the 
bath  and  passes  into  the  slag.  Sometimes  a  very  small  percentage 
remains  in  steel  castings,  while  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  other 
steels  may  receive  a  small  overdose  by  mistake,  so  that  Table 

TABLE  XVII-J. 
Physical  Properties  of  Aluminum  Steel. 

NOTE.— Size  of  bars  «x  |  Inch ;  all  samples  forged  either  very  well  or  fairly  well 
except  No.  10  which  was  very  shelly.  The  fractures  from  Nos.  1  to  7,  inclusive, 
were  granular,  but  Nos.  8,  9,  and  10  showed  increasing  coarse  crystallization.  All 
bars  bent  double  cold  after  annealing  except  No.  10.  Attempts  at  welding  were 
unsuccessful  on  samples  Nos.  3,  5,  and  8. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ 


i 

5  5 

"fl 

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9  - 

00  ^ 

O 

~        Py5 

Hela 

—5 

"§  Pt 

<5  S 

O 

C. 

Si. 

S. 

P. 

Mn. 

Al. 

5 

P 

S" 

03 

H 

1 

.92 

.09 

.07 

.15 

47040 

64960 

86.70 

62.9 

72.4 

2 

.15 

.18 

.10 

.04 

.18 

58 

61520 

67200 

8755 

58.18 

767 

3 

.20 

.12 

.11 

.61 

48160 

62720 

88.40 

64.50 

765 

4 

.18 

.16 

.09 

.03 

.14 

.66 

45920 

64960 

8355 

49.86 

70.7 

6 

.17 

.10 

.18 

.72 

49280 

62720 

40.00 

60.74 

78.6 

6 

.26 

.15 

".08* 

".04" 

.11 

1.16 

61520 

73920 

82.05 

61.46 

69.7 

7 

.21 

.18 

.18 

1.60 

44800 

69440 

82.70 

62.14 

64.5 

8 

.21 

.18 

.09 

.03 

.18 

2.20 

47040 

69440 

22.75 

27.80 

67.7 

9 

.24 

.18 

52 

2.24 

48160 

72800 

20.67 

2464 

661 

10 

.22 

.20 

".08" 

".03* 

.22 

6.60 

85120 

3.fi7 

3.96 

362  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

XVII-J  will  be  of  interest  as  giving  the  results  of  an  investigation 
by  Hadfield.*  After  making  allowances  for  variations  in  other  ele- 
ments, it  will  be  found  that  aluminum  has  little  effect  upon  the 
tensile  strength,  while  it  does  not  materially  injure  the  ductility 
until  a  content  of  2  per  cent,  is  reached. 

These  conclusions  do  not  agree  with  the  results  which  I  have 
found  by  casting  different  alloys  in  6-inch  square  ingots.  The 
aluminum  was  added  in  a  solid  state  and  possibly  was  not  dissemi- 
nated uniformly,  but  the  analysis  was  made  on  the  test-bar  itself, 
and  the  fusible  nature  of  the  metal  makes  it  probable  that  the  piece 
would  be  reasonably  homogeneous.  Either  two  or  three  ingots  were 
cast  from  each  heat,  the  first  containing  either  no  aluminum  or 
only  a  trace,  while  the  others  were  made  so  as  to  give  fairly  rich  al- 
loys. The  results  are  given  in  Table  XVII-K. 

The  casting  and  working  of  such  ingots  is  a  regular  operation 
at  the  works  where  these  experiments  were  made,  and  perfect  uni- 
formity is  always  obtained  in  respect  to  tensile  strength,  so  that 
it  is  probable  the  variations  in  bars  of  the  same  heat  are  due 
to  the  different  contents  of  aluminum.  These  changes  are  as 
follows : 

(1)  The  addition  of  one-half  of  1  per  cent,  of  aluminum  in- 
creases the  tensile  strength  between  3000  and  8000  pounds  per 
square  inch,  exalts  the  elastic  limit  in  about  the  same  proportion, 
and  injures  very  materially  the  elongation  and  contraction  of  area. 
The  effect  both  upon  strength  and  ductility  is  more  marked  in  the 
case  of  low  than  in  high  steels. 

(2)  The  addition  of  another  half  of  1  per  cent,  does  not  have 
much  effect  upon  the  ultimate  strength  or  the  elastic  limit,  but  it 
still  further  decreases  the  ductility  of  the  metal. 

It  is  stated  by  Odelstjernaf  that  the  use  of  aluminum,  in  the 
manufacture  of  steel  castings,  gives  an  inferior  metal,  even  though 
the  addition  amount  to  only  .002  per  cent.,  and  that  such  steel 
presents  a  peculiar  fracture,  the  faces  of  the  crystals  being  large 
and  well  defined.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind,  however,  that  these 
conclusions  apply  to  one  particular  kind  of  practice,  and  that  the 
use  of  aluminum,  under  certain  conditions,  may  produce  a  most 

*  Aluminum  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  S.  L,  Vol.  II,  1890,  p.  161. 

iThe  Manufacture  of  Open-Hearth  Steel  in  Sweden.      Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXIV, 
p.  312. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


363 


harmful  effect,  while  under  other  possible  conditions  the  result 
would  be  less  marked. 

SEC.  XVIIh. — Influence  of  arsenic. — The  effect  of  arsenic  upon 
steel  was  investigated  several  years  ago  by  Harbord  and  Tucker.* 
Their  conclusions  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

Arsenic,  in  percentages  not  exceeding  .17,  does  not  affect  the 
bending  properties  at  ordinary  temperatures,  but  above  this  per- 

TABLE  XVII-K. 

Effect  of  Aluminum  upon  the  Physical  Properties  of  Steel. 

6-inch  square  ingots,  made  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  rolled  to  2x%  Inch. 


/ 

w 

1 

1 

9 

w 

Composition;  percent. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elastic  ratio; 
per  cent. 

Elongation  in  8 
inches;  percent. 

Reduction  of  area  ; 
per  cent. 

C. 

P, 

Si. 

Mn. 

s. 

Al. 

Soft  basic 
open-hearth 
steels. 

1791 

.11 
.11 

.024 
.022 

.  .   . 

.48 
.45 

.035 
.035 

.00 
58 

48800 
66880 

33190 
41150 

68.0 
72.4 

31.25 
18.25 

48.6 
29.8 

1792 

.11 
.11 

.010 
.011 

.45 
.41 

.019 
.023 

.00 
.45 

46440 
53440 

81640 
86900 

68.1 
69.1 

30.00 
2250 

49.9 
815 

1793 

.11 
.11 

.013 

.35 

.  .   . 

.00 
50 

47160 
53900 

33490 
38530 

71.0 
715 

81.25 
27.00 

45.8 
83.7 

Soft  acid  open- 
hearth  steels. 

8681 

.17 
.16 
.14 

.035 

.61 

.025 

.04 
.473 

.899 

58560 
63440 
64160 

89310 
42100 
89100 

67.1 
66.4 
60.9 

80.00 
23.00 
1750 

45.7 
86.3 
25.4 

8686 

.14 
.14 
.12 

.059 

58 

.021 

.03 
.46 
1.171 

65030 
67810 
67420 

43260 
47950 
48850 

665 
70.7. 
725 

24.00 
20.00 
8.00 

46.2 
34.0 
16.0 

8688 

.12 
.12 
.13 

.034 

51 

.021 

.013 
.45 
.80 

65700 
69880 
61470 

39550 
89100 
43710 

71.0 
65.3 
71.1 

28.7 
21.7 
21.2 

61.8 
405 
84.2 

Hard  acid  open-hearth  steels. 

3682 

.47 
.44 
.43 

.048 

.21 

.70 

.018 

.00 
571 
1.135 

107450 
110550 
105100 

65930 
72420 
68080 

61.4 
65.5 

64.8 

10.0 
9.2 
12.5 

20.1 
175 

2LO 

3683 

54 
.47 
.43 

.044 

.31 

.75 

.020 

.00 
.37 

.94 

124040 
122080 
128040 

47830 
47680 
47440 

88.6 
89.1 
87.0 

10.0 

"75* 

18.0 
8.2 
0.4 

3684 

.40 
.36 
.38 

.040 

.26 

.67 

.028 

.01 
54 
.90 

95010 
98375 
98720 

42740 

43050 
43150 

45.0 
43.8 
43.7 

18.7 
14.0 
125 

41.0 
245 

20.4 

3685 

.40 
.38 
.34 

.046 

.30 

.68 

.031 

.00 
52 
.73 

94700 
100055 
98480 

44610 
47240 
46910 

47.1 
47.2 
47..« 

16.2 
18.7 
125 

31.3 
24.1 
175 

8689 

.42 
.40 
M 

.046 

.21 

.71 

.025 

.00 
.31 
.66 

90900 
94560 
96680 

63550 
59190 
69460 

68.9 
62.6 
61.5 

155 
16.0 
14.7 

22.0 
89.7 
26.4 

*  On  the  Effect  of  Arsenic  on  Mild  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  8. 1.,  Vol.  I.,  1888,  p.  183. 


364  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

centage  cold-shortness  rapidly  increases.  In  amounts  not  exceeding 
.66  per  cent.,  the  tensile  strength  is  raised  considerably.  It  lowers 
the  elastic  limit,  and  decreases  the  elongation  and  reduction  of  area 
in  a  marked  degree.  It  makes  the  steel  harden  more  in  quenching, 
and  injures  its  welding  power  even  when  only  .093  per  cent,  is 
present. 

These  results  have  been  corroborated  by  J.  E.  Stead,*  who  found 
tli at  between  .10  and  .15  per  cent,  of  arsenic  in  structural  steel  has 
no  effect  upon  the  mechanical  properties ;  the  tenacity  is  but  slightly 
increased,  the  elongation  and  reduction  of  area  unaffected.  With 
.20  per  cent,  of  arsenic,  the  difference  is  noticeable,  while  with  larger 
amounts  the  effect  is  decisive.  When  one  per  cent,  is  present,  the 
tenacity  is  increased,  and  the  elongation  and  reduction  of  area  both 
reduced.  This  increase  in  strength  and  diminution  in  toughness 
continue  as  the  content  of  arsenic  is  raised  to  4  per  cent.,  when  the 
elongation  and  reduction  in  area  become  nil.  These  experiments 
are  of  practical  importance,  since  many  steels  carry  an  appreciable 
proportion  of  arsenic.  Some  chemists  take  little  cognizance  of  this 
fact,  and  their  phosphorus  determinations  are  too  high  on  account 
of  the  presence  of  arsenic  in  the  phosphorus  precipitate.  Other 
analysts  take  special  precautions  to  avoid  this  contamination. 

SEC.  XVIIi. — Influence  of  nickel,  tungsten  and  chromium. — 
The  first  public  presentation  of  the  effect  of  nickel  upon  steel  was 
a  paper  by  Jas.  Riley.f  Since  that  time  the  properties  of  nickel 
steel  have  become  widely  known.  As  often  happens  in  the  case  of 
a  new  metal,  the  tendency  is  to  exaggerate  its  importance.  In  a 
paper  read  before  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  in  June, 
1895,  I  gave  the  detailed  results  found  by  testing  nickel  steel  when 
rolled  into  rounds,  angles  and  plates,  and  compared  them  with  the 
records  of  carbon  steel  of  the  same  tensile  strength.  A  condensation 
of  the  work  will  be  found  in  Table  XVII-L.  The  nickel  steel  is 
superior,  but  in  less  measure  than  may  be  generally  supposed.  It 
must  be  kept  in  mind,  however,  that  in  armor  plate,  as  in  many 
another  field,  there  is  sometimes  but  a  very  small  distance  between 
absolute  success  and  absolute  failure,  and  that  it  matters  little  how 
much  margin  there  is  above  success,  provided  there  is  a  margin 
at  all. 

*  The  Effect  of  Arsenic  on  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1895,  p.  77. 
t  Alloys  of  Nickel  and  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1889,  p.  45. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


365 


In  1903  a  pamphlet  was  issued  on  nickel  steel,  by  A.  L.  Colby. 
His  conclusions  may  be  thus  summarized : 

Three  per  cent,   of  nickel  in  steel  of  0.25   per  cent,   carbon 

TABLE  XVII-L. 
Nickel  Steel  as  Compared  with  Carbon  Steel. 

NOTE.— All  steels  were  made  in  an  acid  open-hearth  furnace  by  The  Pennsylvania 

Steel  Company. 


Composition;  percent. 

Kind  of  steel. 

C. 

Mn. 

P. 

S. 

Ni. 

Nickel     

.24 

0.78 

.032 

.027 

8^5 

Hard  forging  .  . 

.30  to  .85 

.60  to  1.00 

.03  to  .05 

.03  to  .05 

nil. 

Forging  

35  to  .80 

.60  to    .80 

.03  to  .06 

.03  to  .07 

nil. 

Shape  of  member. 

Kind  of  steel. 

if 

43 

a 

fl 

2 

g* 

nS 

i 

2  - 

||l 

o 

| 

s 

3?- 

_o  ^ 

L 

"oS*^ 

c  ~  C 

°< 

o 

«s 

«$ 

73  o> 

£      J 

•^  *"  c3 

hr  rl 

BM 

§0 

sis 

las- 

I1 

i 

G  w 
Ofl 

31 

h 

rQ  ® 

p 

(3 

m 

H 

M 

P5 

Bounds, 

Nickel     . 

86015 

63575 

73.9 

20  19 

84.00 

46^ 

Hard  forging  . 

87663 

BBOH 

66.2 

16.70 

24.44 

80^ 

Forging  . 

.  .  . 

78066 

51793 

66.3 

23.94 

.  .  . 

52.0 

Angles, 

Nickel     . 

86960 

58553 

67.3 

21.75 

89.67 

605 

Hard  forging  . 
Forging  .... 

87820 
76970 

54153 
49544 

61.7 
64.4 

19^5 

34^3 

43.3 
49.6 

Universal  plates, 
longitudinal, 

Nickel 

85773 
82773 
78996 

58410 
50163 
46654 

68.1 
60.6 
59.1 

21.08 
20.50 
26.78 

89.25 
87.67 

52.0 
47.0 
62.1 

Hard  forging  . 
Forging  .... 

Universal  plates, 
transverse, 

Nickel  .  . 

86417 
85173 

58203 
(50000)* 

67.4 
(58.7)* 

16.50 
18^3 

28.92 
23.17 

36.1 
27.4 

Hard  forging  . 
Forging 

Sheared  plates, 
longitudinal, 

Nickel  
Sard  forging  . 
Forging  .... 

85337 
85012 
78918 

58169 
(50000)* 
49128 

68.2 

(58.8)* 
62.3 

19.00 
22.10 
22.03 

85.50 
89.40 

48.3 
48.4 
50.8 

Sheared  plates. 
transverse, 

Nickel  
gard  forging  , 
orging  .  .  . 

84377 
84327 

57260 
(50000)* 

67.9 
(59.3)* 

17.18 
21.71 

82.50 
87.00 

43.4 
41.3 

produces  a  metal  as  strong  as  simple  carbon  steel  of  0.45  per  cent. 
carbon,  but  with  the  ductility  of  the  lower  carbon  steel. 

On  low-carbon  steels  not  annealed,  each  1  per  cent,  of  nickel 
up  to  5  per  cent,  causes  an  increase  of  5000  pounds  in  the  elastic 
limit  and  4000  pounds  in  the  ultimate  strength,  high-carbon  steels 
showing  more  gain  than  soft  steel,  the  higher  elastic  limit  giving 
more  working  capacity. 

*  Approximate ;  could  not  determine  accurately. 


366  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Nickel  steel  has  the  same  modulus  of  elasticity  as  carbon  steel; 
it  has  greater  resistance  to  shock  and  torsional  strains  and  to  com- 
pression. This  is  not  due  to  hardness,  as  it  is  readily  cut  by  ordi- 
nary tools,  and  soft  steel  cannot  be  made  hard  merely  by  the  addi- 
tion of  nickel. 

Nickel  steel  has  superior  stiffness,  but  bends  to  greater  angles 
before  rupture ;  plates  of  this  metal  are  not  weakened  by  punching 
as  much  as  those  of  carbon  steel.  In  bridge  construction  the  usual 
allowance  for  expansion  can  be  made.  The  shearing  strength  is 
greater  than  with  carbon  steel.  Nickel  segregates  only  slightly  even 
in  the  largest  ingots. 

There  are  other  elements  used  to  make  special  alloys  with  iron, 
some  of  these  metals  being  of  considerable  importance.  Tungsten 
and  chromium  are  both  employed  to  give  tool  steels  extreme  hard- 
ness, their  characteristic  being  that  no  quenching  or  tempering  is 
required.  These  alloys,  however,  do  not  come  under  the  head  of 
structural  material,  and  will  therefore  not  be  considered  here. 

SEC.  XVIIj. — Influence  of  oxide  of  iron. — The  last  step  in  the 
making  of  a  heat  of  steel  is  the  addition  of  the  recarburizer  to  wash 
the  oxygen  from  the  bath,  but  this  action  is  not  perfect,  and  the  ex- 
act relation  is  not  generally  understood.  The  amount  of  oxygen  taken 
from  the  metal  will  be  measured  in  a  rough  way  by  the  amount  of 
manganese  and  other  metalloids  that  are  burned  during  the  reac- 
tion. This  is  particularly  true  of  acid  practice.  In  basic  work 
there  is  oftentimes  a  very  considerable  loss  of  manganese  through 
the  presence  of  free  oxygen  in  the  slag.  This  occurs  in  the  acid 
furnace,  but  less  frequently.  The  loss  of  manganese  in  recar- 
burization  is  a  function  of  the  quantity  which  is  added.  In  other 
words,  a  reduction  in  the  percentage  of  manganese  added  to  an 
open-hearth  bath  at  the  time  of  tapping  means  a  reduction  in  the 
amount  of  manganese  oxidized,  and  this  proves  that  the  reaction 
is  not  perfect,  and  that  an  increasing  amount  of  oxygen  must 
remain  in  the  metal  as  the  content  of  manganese  decreases ;  but  a 
reasonable  proportion  of  this  oxygen  can  hardly  exert  any  marked 
deleterious  influence,  else  the  fact  would  long  ago  have  been  known, 
in  some  more  definite  form  than  the  suppositions  and  theories  which 
are  occasionally  founded  on  exceptional  phenomena.  Assuming 
that  high  oxygen  will  more  likely  be  found  in  steels  low  in  man- 
ganese, it  may  reasonably  be  expected  that  any  bad  effect  will  be 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


367 


seen  in  the  softest  products  of  the  basic  open-hearth  and  in  the 
purest  of  acid  steel.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  well  known  that  the 
reverse  is  true,  and  that  the  ductility  increases  as  the  condition 
of  pure  iron  is  approached. 

TABLE  XVII-M. 
Data  on  Very  Soft  Basic  Open-Hearth  Steel. 


A 

o 

1 

i 

A 
| 

! 

ss 

0  - 

1. 

o^3 

i49' 

5 

0 

I 

I*! 

«s§ 

5*^ 

I. 

| 

Carbon 
bustio 

Carbon 
peroe 

If 

II 

s 

g® 
&° 

s& 

I 
i 

Copper; 

P 

IP 

l&sr 

Elastlo 
per  cej 

4669 

.04 

.007 

.02 

.024 

.10 

28420 

45620 

62.3 

4809 

.04 

.007 

.05 

.019 

.05 

80640 

46310 

66.2 

4930 

.04 

.007 

.04 

.021 

.08 

24370 

46000 

53.0 

4932 

.04 

.011 

.04 

.029 

.04 

25810 

46480 

55.5 

4971 

.03 

.010 

.05 

..032 

.14 

26780 

47140 

56.8 

4972 

.04 

.010 

.04 

A021 

JO 

27920 

47000 

59.4 

Average, 

.025 

.04 

.009 

.04 

.024 

.08 

27323 

46425 

58.9 

In  a  discussion  of  a  paper  by  Webster,  H.  D.  Hibbard*  deduced 
the  fact  that  oxide  of  iron  reduces  the  tensile  strength  of  very  soft 
metal  by  several  thousand  pounds.  I  cannot  indorse  this  conclu- 
sion, but  offer  Table  XVII-M  as  evidence  to  the  contrary.  These 
heats  were  made  in  a  basic  open-hearth  furnace,  and  their  regular- 
ity shows  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  normal  and  definite  metal  and 
not  with  an  accidental  product.  They  were  purposely  made  with 
the  lowest  possible  content  of  manganese,  and  it  seems  certain 
that  the  steel  must  be  saturated  with  oxygen.  These  steels  are 
much  stronger  than  would  be  expected  as  compared  with  those  con- 
taining more  carbon.  It  may  be  that  the  first  increments  of  car- 
bon have  less  strengthening  effect  than  further  additions,  or  it  may 
be  that  the  first  increments  of  manganese  have  a  marked  weakening 
effect,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  the  oxide  of  iron  increases  the 
ultimate  strength. 

*  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  VoL  XXI,  p.  99S 


368 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


PART  II. 

EFFECT  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  AS  DETERMINED  BY  SPECIAL  MATHE- 
MATICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 

SEC.  XVIIk. — Investigations  by  Webster. — A  comprehensive 
study  of  the  physical  formula- of  steel  has  been  carried  out  by  W.  E. 
Webster.*  He  has  used  the  laborious  method  of  successive  approxi- 
mations, and  by  "cutting  and  trying"  has  found  the  effect  of  each 
element  upon  the  ultimate  strength,  as  well  as  the  effect  of  the 
thickness  and  finishing  temperature.  The  results  are  given  by  him 
as  follows: 

.01  per  cent,  of  sulphur  increases  the  tensile  strength  500  pounds 
per  square  inch. 

.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  has  an  effect  which  varies  with  each 
increment  as  follows,  the  values  being  expressed  in  pounds  per 
square  inch : 


An  increase  in  percentage 

gives  an  increment  of 

making  a  total  increase  in 
strength  over  metal  with  no 
manganese  of 

from  .00  to  .15 

3600 

8600 

"      .15  to  .20 

1200 

4800 

.20  to  .25 

1100 

6900 

.25  to  .80 

1000. 

6900 

.80  to  .85 

900 

7800 

.85  to  .40 

800 

8600 

.40  to  .45 

700 

9300 

.45  to  .50 

600 

9900 

.50  to  .55 

500 

10400 

.55  to  .60 

500 

10900 

.60  to  .65 

500 

11400 

.01  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  has  an  effect  which  varies  according 
to  the  amount  of  carbon  present : 


"With  .08  per  cent,  of  carbon  it  is 

.09  " 

"   .10  « 

"   .11  «  « 

«   .12  "  « 

"   .13  «  " 

"    ,14  "  « 

«   .15  "  « 


.17 


'  "  900 

"  "  1000 

"  "  1100 

"  1200 

"  1300 

"  1400 

"  1500 

"  1500 

"  "  1500 


pounds  per  square  inch. 


Carbon  has  a  constant  effect  of  800  pounds  for  each  .01  per  cent. 

SEC.  XVIII. — The  value  of  carbon,  manganese,  phosphorus  and 

iron  in  open-hearth  steel  as  found  by  the  method  of  least  squares. 

*  Observations  on  the  Relations  between  the  Chemical  Constitution  and  Physical  Char- 
acter of  Steel.  Trans.  A.  I.  M.  E.,  Vol.  XXI,  p.  766,  and  Vol.  XXIII,  p.  113 ;  also  Joii'nal 
I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1894,  p.  328. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


369 


— Several  years  ago  I  made  investigations  by  the  method  of  least 
squares  into  the  influence  of  the  metalloids  on  open-hearth  steel, 
and  the  former  editions  of  this  book  contained  details  of  the  calcu- 
lations. The  following  values  were  found : 


Acid  steel. 

Basic  steel. 

Ib.  per  sq.  in. 

Ib.  per  sq.  in. 

Carbon  

1210 

950 

Phosphorus  

890 

1050 

Manganese 

85 

The  base  was  38,600  pounds  for  pure  iron  for  acid  steel,  and 
37,430  pounds  for  basic  metal.  These  formulae  have  been  used 
at  the  works  of  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  for  ten  years, 
and  it  is  unusual  to  have  a  difference  of  more  than  2500  pounds  per 
square  inch  between  the  calculated  strength  and  the  strength  as 
actually  found  from  the  specimen  rolled  from  a  test  ingot.  The 
values  have  also  been  used  commercially  by  other  large  steel  works. 

In  making  calculations  by  least  squares,  no  assumptions  axe  made 
and  no  preconceived  theory  can  influence  the  work.  The  investiga- 
tion resolves  itself  into  the  solution  of  certain  mathematical  equa- 
tions, with  only  one  possible  answer.  Notwithstanding  this  fact, 
the  method  has  given  unsatisfactory  results  in  the  hands  of  other 
investigators,  probably  because  the  number  of  observations  was  too 
limited  and  the  errors  too  great.  In  the  present  case,  the  general 
correctness  of  the  results  proves  that  the  method  is  applicable. 

SEC.  XVIIm. — The  value  of  carbon,  manganese,  phosphorus  and 
iron  in  open-hearth  steel  as  found  by  plotting. — In  a  paper  read 
before  the  New  York  meeting  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  of 
Great  Britain  in  October,  1904,  I  gave  the  details  of  an  investiga- 
tion of  nearly  seven  hundred  acid  heats  and  eleven  hundred  basic 
heats  of  open-hearth  steel.  A  complete  analysis  was  made  of  each 
heat,  the  carbon  being  determined  by  combustion.  The  heats  were 
combined  into  groups,  one  group  being  composed  of  heats  showing 
carbon  from  0.075  to  0.125  per  cent.;  another  with  carbon  from 
0.125  to  0.175  per"  cent;  and  so  on,  making  a  division  for  each 
additional  0.05  per  cent,  of  carbon.  Table  XVII-N"  gives  the  list 
of  groups  thus  formed. 


K 

tar 


c 


I 

z- 

y 

P 

«0 
u< 

I 

P 


YVY1 

^ 

/ 

i 

/ 

/ 

OOC 

J 

/ 

000 
000 
OOC 

/ 

/ 

/ 

' 

y 

/ 

• 

/ 

/ 

> 

7 

Wi 

^ 

y 

OOC 
000 

OOC 

Jj 

^j 

/ 

^ 

o1/ 

^ 

>v 

7 

/ 

y 

? 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

1 

f 

/ 

>  / 

/ 

V 

' 

, 

r' 

i/ 

'iJ 

X>0 

>oo 

/ 

V, 

J 

/ 

* 

^/ 

1 

/ 

3> 

| 

* 

5                 .1                 .2 

5                 .-4                 .5                .6 

CARBON,  PER  CENT, 

FIG.  XVII-A.— STRENGTH  OF  STEEL  FROM  TABLE  XVII-0. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


371 


The  lines  in  Fig.  XVII-A  are  not  plotted  from  Table  XVII-N, 
but  the  data  have  been  combined  to  allow  for  the  unequal  number 
of  heats  in  the  groups.  Thus  by  combining  1,  2  and  3  we  get  the 
first  point  of  AA;  from  groups  2,  3  and  4  the  second  point;  and  so 
on.  The  result  of  this  combination  gives  Table  XVII-0,  and  the 
lines  AA,  BB  take  no  account  of  variations  in  phosphorus  or  man- 
ganese. In  the  investigation  by  the  method  of  least  squares  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  section  it  was  found  that  0.01  per  cent,  of 
phosphorus  raised  the  strength  of  acid  steel  890  pounds,  and  basic 
steel  1050  pounds  per  sq.  in.  In  the  present  investigation  the 
value  of  carbon  is  first  determined,  and  then  that  of  manganese  and 
phosphorus,  but  in  order  to  find  the  value  of  carbon  accurately  it  is 
essential  to  know  the  influence  of  both  manganese  and  phosphorus. 
This  makes  necessary  the  method  of  successive  approximations,  but 
in  the  present  case  the  methods  used  avoid  to  some  extent  the  de- 
pendence of  one  determination  upon  another.  Thus  in  the  line  AA, 
carbon  is  the  one  great  variable ;  the  proportions  of  phosphorus  and 
manganese  are  not  constant,  but  the  groups  of  high-carbon  steel 
contain  about  the  same  amount  of  manganese  and  phosphorus  as 

TABLE  XVII-N. 

Groups  Used  to  Find  the  Effect  of  Carbon,  Phosphorus  and 
Manganese. 


Ultimate 

Class. 

Number  of 
heats. 

Carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Phosphorus  ; 
per  cent. 

Manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

strength  ; 
Ibs.  per 

square  inch. 

50 

.1118 

.0545 

.408 

58,012 

131 

.1463 

1    .0567 

.437 

61.039 

58 

.1995 

.0579 

.475 

66,809 

22 

.2463 

.0563 

.484 

70,736 

Line  AA. 
Acid  steel. 

50 
120 
103 

.3065 
.3501 
.4000 

.0476 
.0466 
.0400 

.528 
.537 
.518 

79,058 
83,093 
87,156 

86 

.4491 

.0376 

.520 

92,824 

42 

.4961 

.0363 

.519 

98,224 

8 

.5460 

.0354 

.495 

102,346 

6 

.5863 

.0330 

.493 

107,398 

135 

.0451 

.0082 

.243 

46,703 

125 

.0974 

.0084 

.422 

50.ni:5 

134 

.1521 

.0116 

.436 

55,650 

LineBB. 
Basic  steel. 

246 
263 
125 

.3044 
.2484 
.2935 

.0113 
.0110 
.0106 

.472 
.474 
.464 

61.236 
64,744 

68,307 

27 

.3413 

.0113 

.461 

72,065 

11 

.3932 

.0120 

.499 

78,625 

1 

.4310 

.0070 

.390 

83,305 

372 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XVII-0. 

Combination  of  Data  in  Table  XVII-N  to  Obtain  the  Lines  in 

Fig.  XVII-A. 


Class. 

Carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Phosphorus  ; 
per  cent. 

Manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength; 
Ibs.  per  sq.  inch. 

Line  AA. 
Acid  steel. 

.1520 
.1713 
.2486 
.3268 
.3609 
.3943 
.4357 
.4693 
.5130 

.0565 
.0570 
.0537 
.0480 
.0443 
.0419 
.0384 
.0371 
.0358 

.440 
.453 
.497 
.529 
.528 
.526 
.519 
.518 
.513 

61806 
63637 
72185 
80626 
83886 
87155 
91278 
96068 
99795 

Line  BB. 
Basic  steel. 

.0978 
.1639 
.2115 
.2403 
.2681 
.3081 
.3582 

.0094 
.0107 
.0113 
.0110 
.0109 
.0108 
.0113 

.366 
.450 
'  .465 
.471 
.470 
.466 
.469 

50834 
57001 
61502 
64086 
66297 
69626 
74203 

the  groups  of  low-carbon  steel,  and  hence  the  line  will  give  a  pro- 
visional value  of  carbon.  The  general  trend  is  determined  by 
stretching  a  thread  along  its  length  and  noting  the  tangent  made 
with  the  horizontal.  In  this  way  the  line  AA  indicates  a  value  for 
carbon  of  about  1050  pounds  for  each  0.01  per  cent.;  allowances 
have  yet  to  be  made  for  the  effect  of  phosphorus  and  manganese, 
but  this  figure  serves  as  a  working  basis  for  similar  provisional 
estimations  of  the  other  elements.  In  explaining  the  method  used 
to  determine  the  value  of  phosphorus  and  manganese,  no  mention 
will  be  made  of  these  provisional  values,  the  figures  given  being 
in  each  case  the  final  results. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  PHOSPHORUS  ON  ACID  STEEL. 

The  study  into  the  effect  of  phosphorus  will  be  confined  to  acid 
steel,  for  in  the  basic  steels  under  consideration  the  proportion  of 
phosphorus  was  so  low  that  the  differences  were  almost  within  the 
limits  of  error.  The  bars  were  classified  according  to  carbon  and 
each  of  these  main  groups  was  then  sub-divided  according  to  phos- 
phorus. Heats  with  0.03  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  constituted  one 
group ;  those  with  0.031  per  cent,  another;  those  with  0.032  per  cent, 
another,  and  so  on.  These  groups  were  put  together  so  as  to  give 
four  or  five  points  with  an  equal  number  of  heats  in  each,  the  re- 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


373 


suit  being  shown  in  Table  XVII-P.     In  the  last  column  is  given 
what  may  be  called  the  base,  or  the  strength  of  the  iron  and  phos- 

FIQ.  2. 


* 


0.02 


0.03 


0.06 


0.04  0.05 

PHOSPHORUS,  PER  CENT 

FIG.  XVII-B. — EFFECT  OF  PHOSPHORUS  ON  ACID  STEEL. 


0.07 


phorus  after  allowing  for  carbon  and  manganese;  this  last  column 
is  plotted  in  Fig.  XYII-B.  By  combining  the  groups  so  as  to  rectify 
the  lines  by  the  method  used  in  Table  XVII-0,  it  will  be  found 
that,  in  the  line  representing  heats  ranging  between  0.075  and  0.224 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  phosphorus  has  a  value  of  about  860  Ib. 
for  each  0.01  per  cent. ;  in  the  range  from  0.225  to  0.374  per  cent, 
of  carbon,  the  value  is  940  Ib. ;  between  0.375  and  0.524  per  cent,  of 
carbon  it  is  1290  pounds.  This  would  indicate  that,  as  the  per- 
centage of  carbon  increases,  the  effect  of  each  unit  of  phosphorus  in- 
creases, but  the  difference  is  so  unimportant  and  the  margin  of  cer- 


374 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


tainty  so  narrow  that  it  will  be  better  to  make  a  true  average  of  the 
three  values.  There  were  239  heats  giving  a  value  of  860  lb., 
192  heats  giving  940  lb.,  and  231  heats  giving  1290  lb.,  so  that  the 
true  average  is  1033  lb.  For  the  sake  of  simplicity  the  value  of 
0,01  per  cent.  o£  phosphorus  will  be  taken  as  1000  pounds. 

In  reducing  to  a  zero-base,  as  in  the  last  column  of  Table  XVII-P, 
there  will  be  certain  errors,  since  the  values  of  carbon  and  man- 
ganese are  not  inerrant;  but  the  original  classification  into  groups 
of  about  the  same  carbon  minimizes  the  disturbing  effect.  Thus  in 
Table  XVII-P  the  first  main  division  has  five  units;  the  highest 
carbon  is  0.1540  per  cent,  and  the  lowest  0.1491  per  cent,  a  varia- 

TABLE  XVII-P. 
Classification  of  Acid  Heats  According  to  Content  of  Phosphorus. 

NOTE.— In  the  last  column  a  value  of  1,000  Ihs.  is  given  to  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon ; 
the  figure  for  manganese  is  taken  from  Table  XVII-R.  Fig.  XVII-B  is  plotted  from 
the  last  column,  but  the  data  are  combined  to  rectify  the  lines. 


Limits  of 
carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Number  of 
heats. 

Chemical  composition. 

Ultimate  strength. 

Carbon, 
per  cent. 

Phos- 
phorus ; 
per  cent. 

Manga- 
nese; 
percent. 

Sulphur; 
per  cent. 

Actual 
records  ; 
pounds 

sq.  inch. 

After  deduct- 
ing for  carbon 
and  manga- 
nese; pounds 
per  sq.  inch. 

0.075  to  0.224 

39 
54 
38 
61 
47 

0.1491 
0.1524 
0.1504 
0.1528 
0.1540 

0.0396 
0.0500 
0.0557 
0.0617 
0.0717 

0.439 
0.430 
0.441 
0.445 
0.447 

ppppp 

59944 
61038 
61595 
62633 
63292 

44616 

45438 
46063 
46813 
47328 

0.225  to  0.374 

46 
53 
44 
49 

0.3373 
0.3317 
0.3265 
0.3120 

0.0331 
0.0438 
0.0523 
0.0626 

0.514 
0.537 
0.527 
0.537 

0.0477 
0.0529 
0.0538 
0.0537 

79636 
81231 
81197 
80390 

42805 
11111 
45194 
45792 

0.375  to  0.524 

52 
63 
54 
62 

0.4413 
0.4424 
0.4366 
0.4235 

0.0271 
0.0343 
0.0404 
0.0504 

0.514 
0.508 
0.521 
0.534 

0.0437 
0.0461 
0.0494 
0.0526 

90413 
91180 
92215 
91370 

42270 
43138 
44320 
44517 

tion  of  0.0049  per  cent.  Carbon  has  been  valued  at  1000  lb.  for 
0.01  per  cent.,  and  if  perchance  that  value  is  in  error  by  50  lb. 
the  results  determined  from  that  division  of  the  table  will  be 
wrong  by  only  50X0.49=25  lb.  The  last  column  shows  a  strength 
of  47,328  lb.  for  one  base  and  44,616  lb.  for  the  other,  a  difference 
of  2712  lb.,  so  that  the  assumed  error  of  50  lb.  in  the  value  of 
carbon  produces  an  error  of  only  1  per  cent,  in  the  value  of  phos- 
phorus in  this  particular  division.  This  argument  applies  also 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  375 

to  the  determination  of  the  other  elements  in  both  acid  and  basic 
steel. 

Another  important  consideration  applying  equally  to  the  work 
on  phosphorus  and  on  manganese  is  the  concordance  of  results 
obtained  from  different  divisions.  A  general  average  obtained  by 
grouping  any  data  into  two  primal  divisions  gives  conclusions  of 
very  limited  value,  but  in  this  paper  the  practice  is  followed  by 
subdividing  in  order  to  compare  results.  Thus  from  three  inde- 
pendent lines  of  Fig.  XVII-B  the  values  of  phosphorus  varied  from 
860  to  1290.  It  is  quite  possible  that  these  variations  were  not  ac- 
cidental and  that  the  variation  represents  a  law  of  increasing  effect 
with  higher  carbons;  but,  leaving  all  this  aside,  it  is  certain  that 
three  separate  determinations  roughly  agreeing  with  one  another 
establish  with  reasonable  certainty  the  general  fact  that  0.01  per 
cent,  of  phosphorus  has  a  strengthening  effect  of  somewhere  about 
1000  Ib.  The  validity  of  the  conclusions  is  much  superior  to  one 
based  on  a  general  average. 

EFFECT  OF  MANGANESE  ON  ACID  STEEL. 

The  heats  were  divided  according  to  their  content  of  man- 
ganese in  the  same  way  as  in  the  determination  of  phosphorus.  The 
results  as  given  in  Table  XVII-Q  and  in  Fig.  XVII-C  show  that 
when  the  manganese  exceeds  0.4  per  cent,  each  increase  in  that 
element  raises  the  strength,  while  with  a  content  below  0.4  per 
cent,  the  tensile  strength  increases  as  the  manganese  decreases.  The 
number  of  observations  of  low-manganese  acid  steels  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  prove  this  conclusively,  but  on  another  page  it  will  be 
shown  that  in  basic  steel,  also,  a  decrease  in  the  manganese  content 
below  a  certain  point  is  not  accompanied  by  a  decrease  in  strength. 
It  is  probable  that  low  manganese  implies  the  presence  of  iron  oxide 
and  that  this  strengthens  the  steel  much  more  than  it  is  weakened 
by  the  decrease  in  manganese. 

The  lines  in  Fig.  XVII-C  show  that  each  increase  in  manganese 
above  0.4  per  cent,  is  accompanied  by  an  increase  in  strength,  but 
this  increase  is  not  the  same  with  steels  of  different  carbon.  In 
steels  containing  more  than  0.374  per  cent,  of  carbon,  each  increase 
of  0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  augments  the  tensile  strength  by 
about  440  Ib.  per  sq.  in.  In  Table  XVII-Q  it  is  shown  that  the 
average  carbon  of  this  group  is  about  0.44  per  cent.,  and  we  thus 


376 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


determine  that,  for  a  steel  of  0.44  per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  strength- 
ening effect  of  0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  is  about  440  Ib.  per  sq.  in. 


FIG.  XVII-C. 
EFFECT  OF  MANGANESE  ON  ACID  STEEL. 


**,*«> 


47,ooe 


$<*$**> 


43,00. 


42006 


440L 


.20 


.30 


ON 


^ 


tf 


/ 


.70 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


377 


In  the  same  way  the  line  of  next  lower  carbon  shows  that,  in  steels 
of  0.33  per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  strengthening  effect  is  about  260 
Ib.  per  sq.  in.  The  next  three  lines  may  be  considered  as  a  unit 
indicating  that,  for  steels  of  0.155  per  cent,  of  carbon,  the  strength- 
ening effect  is  about  125  Ib.  per  sq.  in.  Plotting  these  data  it  was 
found  that  the  strengthening  effect  of  each  0.01  per  cent,  of  man- 
ganese above  a  content  of  0.4  per  cent,  is  80  Ib.  per  sq.  in.  for  a 
steel  of  0.1  per  cent,  of  carbon,  but  that  for  each  rise  of  0.01  per 

TABLE  XVII-Q. 
Classification  of  Acid  Heats  According  to  Content  of  Manganese. 

NOTE.— In  the  last  column  both  carbon  and  phosphorus  are  valued  at  1,000  pounds 

for  0.01  per  cent. 


Limits  of 
carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Limits  of 
manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

Number  of  heats. 

Chemical  composition  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  sq.  in. 

Carbon. 

Phosphorus. 

Manganese. 

Sulphur. 

Actual 
records. 

After 
deducting 
for  car- 
bon and 
phos- 
phorus. 

0.075  to  0.124 

0.30  to  0.35 
0.36  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 

6 
12 
20 
11 

2 
19 
55 
41 
14 

0.1052 
0.1117 
0.1110 
0.1168 

0.0548 
0.0500 
0.0564 
0.0568 

d.330 
0.377 
0.416 
0.462 

0.0560 
0.0576 
0.0589 
0.0636 

57558 
57047 
58173 
59135 

41558 
40877 
41433 
41775 

0.125  to  0.174 

0.30  to  0.35 
0.36  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

0.1330 
0.1354 
0.1459 
0.1477 
0.1608 

ooooo 

0.330 
0.381 
0.417 
0.470 
0.503 

0.0550 
0.0564 
0.0579 
0.0595 

60200 
59189 
60560 
61483 
64253 

41050 
40269 
40280 
41073 
42163 

0.175  to  0.224 

0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

16 
23 
19 

0.2004 
0.2016 
0.1960 

0.0562 

oiosw 

0.0579 

0.422 
0.468 
0.527 

0.0504 
0.0567 

66237 
67020 
67035 

40577 
40990 
41645 

0.225  to  0.374 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

47 
122 
19 

83 
144 
17 

0.3127 
0.3305 
0.3413 

0.0476 
0.0482 
0.0476 

0.461 
0.541 
0.618 

77471 
81257 
84463 

41441 
43387 
45573 

Over  0.374 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

0.4495 
0.4387 
0.4461 

0.0359 
0.0395. 
0.0387 

0.465 
0.537 
0.618 

90680 
92365 
96218 

42140 
44545 
47738 

cent,  of  carbon  the  strengthening  effect  is  increased  8  pounds.  Thus 
an  increase  in  manganese  from  0.4  to  0.41  per  cent,  in  steel  of  0.1 
per  cent,  of  carbon  raises  the  strength  80  Ib.,  but  an  increase  in 
manganese  from  0.4  to  0.41  per  cent,  in  steel  of  0.11  per  cent,  of 
carbon  raises  the  strength  88  pounds.  A  continuation  of  the  line 
thus  plotted  gave  zero-effect  for  zero  carbon.  With  basic  steel  it 


378 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


will  appear  that  a  different  value  was  obtained  for  a  starting  point 
and  a  different  value  for  the  increment.  The  law  of  variation  in 
the  effect  of  manganese  upon  acid  steels  is  shown  in  Table  XVII-R. 
It  is  possible  to  calculate  manganese  in  the  same  way  that  phos- 
phorus was  determined,  by  making  a  true  average  of  the  different 
values  of  manganese  found  from  the  lines  in  Fig.  XVII-C.  After 
doing  this  and  carrying  out  the  system  of  successive  approximations 
to  the  end,  it  was  found  that  each  .01  per  cent,  of  manganese  in 
acid  steel  in  excess  of  .40  per  cent,  raised  the  strength  250  pounds 
per  square  inch.  This  change  in  the  value  of  manganese  made  a 
slight  change  in  the  value  of  carbon  and  in  the  base,  and  when 
the  new  formula  was  applied  to  the  list  of  groups,  as  in  Table 
XVII- Y,  it  was  found  that  it  did  not  give  as  accurate  results  as 
the  original  formula  with  the  sliding  scale  for  manganese. 

EFFECT  OF  SULPHUR  ON  ACID  STEEL. 

The  heats  were  classified  according  to  their  sulphur  content, 
the  results  being  given  in  Table  XVII-S  and  in  Fig.  XVII-D.  It  is 
shown  that  sulphur  has  little  influence  upon  the  strength  of  add 
steel. 

TABLE  XVII-R. 
Effect  of  Manganese  upon  Acid  Steel. 


"*5 

Manganese  ;  pounds  per  square  inch. 

1* 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

Per 

6  p, 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

cent. 

0.40 

0.42 

0.44 

0.46 

0.48 

0.50 

0.52 

0.54 

0.56 

0.58 

0.60 

0.10 

160 

320 

480 

640 

800 

960 

1120 

1280 

1440 

1600 

0.15 

240 

480 

720 

960 

1200 

1440 

1680 

1920 

2160 

2400 

0.20 

320 

640 

960 

1280 

1600 

1920 

2240 

2560 

2880 

3300 

0.25 

400 

800 

1200 

1600 

2000 

2400 

2800 

3200 

3600 

4000 

0.30 

480 

960 

1440 

1920 

2400 

2880 

3360 

3840 

4320 

4800 

0.35 

560 

1120 

1680 

2240 

2800 

3360 

3920 

4480 

5040 

5600 

0.40 

640 

1280 

1920 

2560 

3200 

3840 

4480 

5120 

5760 

6400 

0.45 

720 

1440 

2160 

2880  ' 

3600 

4320 

5040 

5760 

6480 

7200 

0.50 

800 

1600 

2400 

3200 

4000 

4800 

5600 

6400 

7200 

8000 

0.55 

880 

1760 

2640 

3520 

4400 

5280 

6160 

7040 

7920 

8800 

0.60 

960 

1920 

2880 

3840 

4800 

5760 

6720 

7680 

8640 

9600 

EFFECT  OF  CARBON  ON  ACID  STEEL. 

Having  found  the  effect  of  manganese  and  phosphorus  it  becomes 
possible  to  correct  the  original  line  so  as  to  determine  the  value  of 
carbon.  Table  XVII-S  gives  the  corrected  values,  which  are  plotted 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


379 


TABLE  XVII-S. 
Classification  of  Acid  Heats  According  to  Content  of  Sulphur. 


INoTE.--In  the  last  column  a  value  of  1000  pounds  is  given  to  0.01 
carbon  and  phosphorus ;  the  figure  for  manganese  is  taken  from 


r  cent,  of  both 
XVII-R. 


4 

Chemical  composition  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  sq.  in. 

Limits  of  car- 
bon ;  per  cent. 

mber  of  het 

I 

1 
A 

1 
I 

1 

Actual 
records. 

After  de- 
ducting 
for  car- 
bon, phos- 
phorus. 

g 

0 

\ 

and  man- 

fc 

3 

£ 

S 

GO 

ganese. 

58 

'   0.1601 

0.0519 

0.425 

0.0474 

61689 

40169 

0.075  to  0.224 

68 
61 

0.1457 
0.1551 

0.0546 
0.0581 

0.444 
0.448 

0.0547 
0.0602 

61097 
62376 

40561 
40486 

52 

0.1474 

0.0621 

0.444 

0.0703 

62195 

40717 

44 

0.3345 

0.0401 

0.518 

0.0431 

80478 

39903 

0.225  to  0.374 

37 
60 

0!3288 

0.3256 

0.0470 
0.0499 

0.527 
0.533 

0.0495 
0.0644 

80798 

BOBTO 

39865 
39609 

51 

0.3203 

0.0532 

0.535 

0.0612 

80582 

39776 

63 

0.4356 

0.0830 

0.514 

0.0389 

90689 

39816 

0.375  to  0.524 

45 
64 

0.4419 
0.4378 

0.0367 
0.0392 

0.511 
0.515 

0.0464 

0.0500 

ma 

90988 

40274 
39240 

59 

0.4290 

0.0449 

0.536 

0.0679 

91726 

39658 

FIG.  XVII-D. 
EFFECT  OF  SULPHUR  ON  ACID  STEEL. 


.3  + 


.04- 


.06 


.07 


380 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


in  Fig.  XVII-G  together  with  the  final  results  on  basic  steel.  The 
value  of  carbon  for  acid  metal  is  shown  by  the  tangent  of  the  line 
with  the  horizontal,  and  is  about  1000  pounds  for  each  .01  per  cent. 
The  line  intersects  the  zero  ordinate  at  40,000  pounds. 

TABLE  XVII-T. 
Effect  of  Carbon  upon  Acid  Steel. 

NOTE.— In  calculating  the  last  column  a  value  of  1000  pounds  is  given  to  0.01  per  cent, 
of  phosphorus ;  manganese  is  rated  according  to  Table  X  VII-R. 


Class. 

Chemical  composition  ;  per 
cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ;  pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Carbon. 

Phos- 
phorus. 

Manga- 
nese. 

Actual  records. 

After  deduct- 
ing for  phos- 
phorus and 
manganese. 

Acid  test-bars; 
carbon  by 
combustion. 

0.1520 
0.1713 
0.2486 
0.3268 
0.3609 
0.3943 
0.4357 
0.4693 
0.5130 

0.0565 
0.0570 
0.0537 
0.0480 
0.0443 
0.0419 
0.0384 
0.0371 
0.0358 

0.440 
0.453 
0.497 
0.529 
0.528 
0.526 
0.519 
0.518 
0.513 

61806 
63637 
72185 
80626 
83886 
87155 
91278 
95052 
99795 

55676 
57216 
64875 
72472 
75744 
78996 
83273 
86917 
91605 

EFFECT  OF  MANGANESE  ON  BASIC  STEEL. 

The  bars  were  classified  according  to  their  content  of  manganese 
as  shown  in  Table  XVII-U  and  in  Fig.  XVII-E.  The  line  of  very 
low-carbon  and  low-manganese  steels  shows  that  in  the  absence  of 
manganese  the  strength  is  raised  by  iron  oxide  or  by  some  other 
agent.  In  steels  of  higher  carbon  less  oxygen  is  present,  owing  to 
the  protecting  power  of  carbon,  and  the  decrease  in  strength  with 
decrease  in  manganese  holds  good  down  to  a  content  of  0.3  per  cent. 
Considering  only  the  lines  representing  steels  with  from  0.075  to 
0.224  per  cent,  and  with  from  0.225  to  0.374  per  cent,  of  carbon, 
and  pursuing  the  same  course  of  reasoning  as  explained  in  the 
valuation  of  manganese  in  acid  steels,  it  appears  that  above  the 
limit  of  0.3  per  cent,  of  manganese  the  effect  of  each  unit  of  that 
element  is  greater  in  the  steels  of  higher  carbon.  In  the  acid  steel 
the  value  at  zero  carbon  was  zero,  the  effect  of  0.01  per  cent,  of 
manganese  in  a  steel  of  0.1  per  cent,  of  carbon  was  80  lb.,  and 
this  effect  increased  8  lb.  with  each  rise  of  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon. 

In  basic  steel  the  value  of  0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  at  zero 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


381 


TABLE  XVII-U. 
Classification  of  Basic  Heats  According  to  Content  of  Manganese. 

NOTE.— In  the  last  column  a  value  of  770  pounds  is  given  to  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon, 
and  1000  pounds  to  0.01  per  cent,  of  phosphorus. 


Chemical  composition  : 

Ultimate  strength  ; 

per  cent. 

pounds  per  sq.  inch. 

Limits  of 

Limits  of 

1 

4 

4 

"  1  . 

carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

.3 

o 

h 

1 

P, 

B 

1 

sHi 

ill 

1 

O 

1 

a 

Og 

1 

S 

0 

£ 

9 

O 

19 

Ss^ 

ft 

^*H 

0.05  to  0.09 

12 

0.0297 

0.0075 

0.081 

45803 

42766 

0.10  to  0.14 

56 

0.0327 

0.0073 

0.120 

45674 

42426 

Below  0.075 

0.15  to  0.29 
0.30  to  0.39 

13 
16 

(X0388 

iums 

0.0072 
0.0097 

0.191 
0.354 

45961 
48034 

422.->4 
42390 

0.40  to  0.49 

34 

0.0091 

0.438 

47981 

42205 

0.50  to  0.59 

4 

0!0663 

0.0133 

0.508 

51133 

44698 

0.20  to  0.29 

7 

0.1103 

0.0079 

0.259 

50056 

40773 

0.30  to  0.39 

114 

0.1458 

0.0098 

0.363 

54110 

41904 

0.075  to  0.224 

0.40  to  0.49 

242 

0.1668 

0.0099 

0.441 

57036 

43203 

0.50  to  0.59 

110 

0.1744 

0.0125 

0.531 

59316 

44638 

0.60  to  0.69 

26 

0.1887 

0.0154 

0.622 

61862 

45793 

0.30  to  0.39 

61 

0.2678 

0.0089 

0.365 

63858 

42349 

0.225  to  0.374 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.69 

221 
102 

0.2689 
0.2668 

0.0101 

0.446 
0.532 

65949 
67565 

44236 
45723 

0.60  to  0.69 

28 

0.2695 

0^0139 

0.624 

69467 

47327 

TABLE  XVII-V. 
Effect  of  Manganese  upon  Basic  Steel. 


Manganese ;  pounds  per  sq.  inch. 


Carbon. 

per 
cent. 

Per  cent. 
0.30 

Per  cent. 
0.35 

Per  cent. 
0.40 

Per  cent. 
0.45 

Per  cent. 
0.50 

Per  cent. 
0.55 

Per  cent. 
0.60 

0.05 

550 

1100 

1650 

2200 

2750 

3300 

0  10 

650 

1300 

1950 

2600 

3250 

3900 

0.15 

750 

1500 

2250 

3000 

3750 

4500 

0.20 

850 

1700 

2550 

3400 

4250 

5100 

0  25 

950 

1900 

2850 

3800 

4750 

5700 

0.30 

1050 

2100 

3150 

4200 

5250 

6300 

0  35 

1150 

2300 

3450 

4600 

5750 

6900 

0  40 

1250 

2500 

3750 

5000 

6250 

7500 

carbon  is  90  Ib. ;  the  effect  per  0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  at  0.1 
per  cent,  of  carbon  is  130  Ib.,  and  the  increase  in  effect  due  to  a 


382 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


rise  of  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon  is  only  4  pounds.  In  the  acid  steel 
the  base  is  0.4  per  cent,  of  manganese;  in  the  basic  steel  it  is  0.3 
per  cent.  The  results  are  tabulated  in  Table  XVII-V. 

FIG.  XVII-E. 

EFFECT  OF  MANGANESE  ON  BASIC  STEEL. 


*#*» 


/  V 


GFPfCT 


4/ 


42JDM 


«pt 


JO 


.20 


.30 


.46 


.70 


As  in  the  case  of  acid  steel  before  explained,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  get  a  uniform  value  for  manganese.  The  figure  found  for 
basic  steel  was  160  pounds  for  each  .01  per  cent,  over  .30  per  cent., 
but  as  with  acid  steel  it  was  found  that  such  a  formula  did  not  give 
as  close  agreement  between  the  calculated  and  the  actual  ultimate 
strength  as  when  the  variable  value  of  manganese  was  used. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  383 


Sooo 

0000 

$000 
WOO 

$000 

OCOO 

Vs' 

/ 

1 

/ 

7 

^ 

f 

< 

/ 

7 

1 

r 

/ 

I 

1 

1 

1 

I 

Sooo 

j 

*9 

/ 

A 

/ 

/ 

/ 

' 

/ 

^ 

*  if 

*/ 

j 

V, 

•/ 

<i 

7 

/ 

?/ 

f 

% 

/ 

5ooo 

* 

^/ 

^ 

/ 

r 

/  . 

?/ 

/ 

4t> 

/ 

r 

y 

J 

/ 

/ 

JOOO 

/ 

ty 

SOOO 

2 

2 

I- 
I 
I 

r 

5 

D 
45  oo  c?  i     i     i     i 

0  .1  .Z  .3  A  .5  .€ 

CARBON.  PER  CENT. 

FIG.   XVII-G. — EFFECT  OF   CARBON  ON  STEEL,  FROM   TABLES 
XVII-T  AND  XVII-X. 


384 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


TABLE  XVII-W. 
Classification  of  Basic  Heats  According  to  Content  of  Sulphur. 

NOTE.— In  the  last  column  a  value  of  770  pounds  is  given  to  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon, 
and  1000  pounds  to  0.01  per  cent,  of  phosphorus ;  manganese  is  rated  as  shown  in 
Table  XVII-V. 


Limits  of 
carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

1 
o 

1 

0 

Chemical  composition  • 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  sq.  in. 

Carbon. 

Phosphorus. 

Manganese. 

Sulphur. 

Actual 
records. 

deducting 
for  carbon, 
phosphorus, 
and  man- 
ganese. 

Below  0.075 

45 
46 

44 

0.0361 
0.0418 
0.0575 

0.0074 
0.0077 
0.0096 

0.162 
0.212 
0.356 

0.0225 
0.0283 
0.0380 

45978 
46337 
47922 

42458 
42348 
41896 

0.075  to  0.224 

74 
103 
112 
105 
110 

0.1225 
0.1571 
0.1786 
0.1790 
0.1696 

0.0078 
0.0089 
0.0114 
0.0115 
0.0129 

0.434 
0.444 
0.466 
0.461 
0.441 

0.0258 
0.0322 
0.0391 
0.0482 
0.0632 

51524 
56027 
58944 

58767 
58129 

39462 
40822 
41363 
41226 
41552 

0.225  to  0.374 

115 
113 
89 
98 

0.2754 
0.2693 
0.2679 
0.2582 

0.0083 
0.0097 
0.0114 
0.0149 

0.453 
0.458 
0.464 
0.504 

0.0298 
0.0365 
0.0434 
0.0563 

66333 
66194 
66307 
66334 

41206 
41360 
41292 
41005 

FIG.  XVII-F. 
EFFECT  OF  SULPHUR  ON  BASIC  STEEL. 


K 

. 

EFFECT  OFSULPHUft  ON  BASIC  3T£.EL. 

'—• 

•- 

^ 

0^ 

*^ 

^ 

•0 

^ 

*°. 

V* 

?  ^ 

2* 

± 

_ 

,~- 

->* 

x^ 

c* 

•Si- 

J-^" 

•"""' 

s 

1*^ 

^ 

-— 

^_  ___ 

i 

I 

X 

^•O1 

** 

1 

/ 

\ 

^ 

! 

[J**M 

i       •     . 

r 

/ 

12                     .03                     .04-                     .C-S                     .06                   .07 

INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


385 


EFFECT  OF  SULPHUR  ON  BASIC  STEEL. 

The  heats  were  classified  according  to  their  sulphur  content,  as 
shown  in  Table  XVII-W  and  in  Fig.  XVII-F.  The  lines  are  ir- 
regular and  indeterminate,  indicating  a  very  small  value  for  this 
element. 

EFFECT  OF  CARBON  UPON  BASIC  STEEL. 

The  effect  of  carbon  was  found,  as  in  the  case  of  acid  steels,  by 
allowing  for  phosphorus  and  manganese  in  the  groups  given  in' 
Table  XVII-0.    The  data  are  given  in  Table  XVII-X  and  in  Fig. 
XVII-G.   The  line  indicates  a  value  of  770  Ib.  for  each  0.01  per 
cent,  of  carbon  and  it  intersects  the  zero  ordinate  at  41,500  pounds. 

TABLE  XVII-X. 
Effect  of  Carbon  upon  Basic  Steel. 

NOTE.— In  calculating  the  last  column  a  value  of  1000  pounds  is  given  to  0.01  per  cent, 
of  phosphorus ;  the  manganese  is  rated  as  shown  in  Table  XVII-V. 


Class. 

Chemical  composition  ;  per 
cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ;  pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Carbon. 

Phos- 
phorus. 

Manga- 
nese. 

Actual  records. 

After  deduct- 
ing for  phos- 
phorus and 
manganese. 

Basic  test-bars  ; 
carbon  by 
combustion. 

0.0978 
0.1639 
0.2115 
0.2403 
0.2681 
0.3081 
0.3582 

0.0094 
0.0107 
0.0113 
0.0110 
0.0109 
0.0108 
0.0113 

0.366 
0.450 
0.465 
0.471 
0.470 
0.466 
0.469 

50634 
57001 
61502 
64086 
66297 
69626 
74203 

49036 
53621 
57501 
59805 
61841 
64994 
69118 

It  has  already  been  explained  that  any  change  in  the  value  of 
manganese  affects  the  tangent  of  the  carbon-line,  thereby  affecting 
the  value  found  for  a  unit  of  that  element ;  and  as  manganese  has 
been  given  a  slightly  higher  value  in  basic  than  in  acid  steel,  it 
would  naturally  follow  that  the  result  for  carbon  would  be  lower 
in  the  basic  than  in  the  acid  steel.  To  find  how  much  this  change 
in  the  value  of  manganese  affected  the  carbon  determination,  the 
experiment  was  tried  of  correcting  the  line  of  basic,  according  to 
the  values  of  manganese  found  for  acid  steel.  The  result  showed 
a  value  of  810  Ib.  for  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon,  instead  of  770  Ib.  as 
found  by  the  above  special  investigation.  Inasmuch  as  the  acid 


386  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

steel  gave  a  value  for  carbon  of  1000  Ib.  per  unit  of  0.01  per  cent., 
and  as  the  basic  steel  gives  810  Ib.  when  calculated  by  the  acid 
formula  and  770  Ib.  by  its  own  formula,  it  would  seem  certain 
that  a  unit  of  carbon  has  much  less  effect  upon  basic  than  upon 
acid  steel. 

THE  APPLICATION   OF  THE  FORMULA. 

Table  XVII-Y  shows  the  result  of  comparing  the  actual  strength 
of  the  steels  under  consideration  with  the  strength  as  calculated 
from  the  formulas  just  given.  For  this  purpose  the  heats  were- 
grouped  according  to  carbon  and  then  subdivided  according  to  man- 
ganese. No  heats  were  put  together  that  varied  more  than  0.05  per 
cent,  in  carbon,  or  more  than  0.1  per  cent,  in  manganese.  For  in- 
stance, a  group  might  include  a  heat  containing  0.1  per  cent,  of 
carbon  and  0.3  per  cent,  of  manganese,  and  another  heat  containing 
0.149  per  cent,  of  carbon  and  0.399  per  cent,  of  manganese,  but 
any  heat  of  higher  or  lower  carbon,  or  of  higher  or  lower  manganese 
than  these  extremes,  would  fall  into  another  group.  Inasmuch  as 
the  phosphorus  did  not  vary  through  wide  limits  in  any  of  the  steels, 
each  group  may  be  looked  upon  as  composed  of  heats  that  are 
practically  alike  in  chemical  composition,  and  which  may  properly 
be  averaged  to  eliminate  accidental  errors. 

In  some  of  the  subdivisions  the  number  of  heats  is  so  small  that 
these  errors  cloud  the  result.  Especially  in  the  steels  of  higher 
carbon  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  large  number  of  heats  in  the  aver- 
age, as  it  is  difficult  to  get  uniform  results  on  a  testing-machine 
under  usual  working  conditions  when  the  bar  has  a  strength  of 
over  90,000  Ib.  per  sq.  in.,  and  unfortunately  it  is  in  these  high 
steels,  and  particularly  in  the  groups  with  an  unusual  content  of 
manganese,  that  only  a  small  number  of  heats  were  on  record. 
There  are,  accordingly,  several  instances  where  these  small  groups 
show  a  considerable  difference  between  the  actual  and  the  calculated 
strength,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  rule  as  to  the  difference,  as  other 
groups,  either  large  or  small,  of  the  same  class  of  steels  give  satis- 
factory results. 

It  is,  of  course,  a  matter  of  opinion  as  to  what  constitutes  a  fair 
agreement  between  the  actual  and  the  calculated  strengths,  but  in 
the  following  comparison  it  will  be  assumed  that  the  results  of  the 
formula?  should  be  within  1500  Ib.  of  the  records  of  the  testing- 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL. 


387 


machine.  In  the  acid  steels  there  are  12  groups  containing  less 
than  5  heats  each.  In  7  of  these  the  calculated  strength  agrees  with 
the  actual  strength  within  1500  pounds.  In  5  groups  the  difference 


TABLE  XVII-Y. 

Comparison  of  the  Actual  Ultimate  Strength  of  Certain  Groups  of 
Steel  with  the  Strength  as  Calculated  from  the  Following 
Formula? : 

Acid  steel :  40000  + 1000  C  + 1000  P  +  x  Mn  =  ultimate  strength. 
Basic  steel :  41500  +  770  C  + 1000  P  +  y  Mn  =  ultimate  strength. 

Value  of  x  as  per  Table  XVII-R ;  value  of  y  as  per  Table  XVII-V. 
Italic  type  denote  that  the  difference  between  the  actual  and  calculated  strengths 
is  over  1500  pounds. 


Limits  of 
carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Limits  of 
manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

Number  of  heats. 

Chemical  composition  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  square  inch. 

Carbon. 

Phosphorus. 

Manganese. 

Actual 
records. 

By  formula. 

Difference. 

Acid  steel  : 
0.075  to  0.124 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

18 
31 
1 

0.1095 
0.1121 
0.1130 

0.0517 

(MLVJ6 
0,0440 

0.361 
0.432 
0.500 

57217 
58414 
56745 

56120 
57258 
56600 

-1097 
-1156 
—145 

0.125  to  0.174 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

21 
96 
14 

0.1352 
0.1466 
0.1608 

0.0542 
0.0567 
0.0601 

0.377 
0.440 
0.513 

59285 
60954 
64253 

58940 
60794 
63536 

—345 
-160 
-717 

0.175  to  0.224 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

39 
19 
1 
11 
10 

0.2011 
0.1960 

0.0577 
0.0579 

0.449 
0.527 

mm 

67035 

66664 
67371 

-34 

+336 

0.225  to  0.274 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

0.2340 
0.2520 
0.2413 

0.0550 
0.0576 
0.0551 

0.390 
0.462 
0.519 

68460 
71068 
70602 

68900 
72200 
71925 

+440 
+1132 
+1323 

0.275  to  0.324 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
ojboto  o.tx) 
0.70  to  0.70 

14 
32 
3 
I 

0.3093 
0,3066 
0.2863 
0.3240 

0.0446 
0.0485 
0.0497 
0.0560 

0.469 
0.541 
0.0/3 
0.720 

78200 
79167 
80223 
84JOO 

77101 
78950 
78456 
86320 

—1099 
-217 
—1767 

-\-2220 

0.325  to  0.374 

0.30  to  o  jy 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 
0.70  to  0.79 

I 

22 
80 
16 
1 

o.34vo 
0.3452 
0.3512 
0.3516 
0.3440 

0.0340 
0.0446 
0.0472 
0.0472 
0.0450 

0300 
0.455 
0.544 
0.619 
0.700 

81650 
80208 
83425 
85258 
86840 

78300 
80498 
83872 
86012 
87180 

—3350 

+290 
+447 
+754 
+340 

0.3T5  to  0.424 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

34 
63 
6 

0.4009 
0.3996 
0.3993 

0.0377 
0.0410 
0.0425 

0.464 
0.537 
0.622 

HMB 

87880 
90598 

85908 
88444 
91284 

+703 
+564 
+688 

0.425  to  0.474 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

27 
53 
6 

0.4481 
0.4515 
0.4332 

0.0363 

0.0382 
0.0378 

0.462 
0.539J 
0.617 

90950 
93760 
93805 

90672 
93974 
94587 

-278 
+214 

+782 

0.475  to  0.524 

0.30  to  0.39  * 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  o.oo 

1 
12 
25 
4 
6 
2 

0.4770 
0.4955 
0.4961 
6.5010 

0.0330 
0.0340 
0.0376 
0.0365 

0.380 
0.468 
0.533 
0.617 

90775 
95745 
98699 
104550 

91000 
95643 
98637 
.-02430 

+225 
-102 
-62 

—  2120 

0.525  to  0.574 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

0.5463 
0.5490 

0.0303 
0.0505 

0.478 
0.545 

100718 
107230 

101061 
106330 

+343 

-900 

0.575  to  0.624 

0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.50, 
0.60  to  0.69 

4 

i 
1 

0.5887 
o.577o 
0.5850 

0.0312 
0.0430 
0.0300 

0.462 
o.<;ro 
0.600 

105131 
112760 
111100 

104904 
107071 
110860 

-227 
—  5o8q 
-240 

388 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


Limit  of 
carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Limits  of 
manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

Number  of  heats. 

Chemical  composition  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  square  inch. 

Carbon. 

Phosphorus. 

\ 

Actual 
records. 

By  formula. 

Difference. 

Basic  steel  : 
0.020  to  0.074 

•0.00  to  0.09 
0.10  to  0.19 
0.20  to  0.29 
0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 

12 
65 
4 
16 
34 
4 

oooooo 

0.0075 
0.0073 
0.0073 
0.0097 
0.0091 
0.0133 

0.081 
0.125 
0.263 
0.354 
0.438 
0.508 

45803 
45645 
47094 
48034 
47981 
51133 

44537 
44740 
46411 
47767 

48849 
50389 

-1266 
-905 
-683 
-267 

+868 
-744 

0.075  to  0.124 

o.io  to  0.19 
0.20  to  0.29 
0.30to0.39 
0.40  to  o  49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

i 
6 

42 

If 

2 

opp  opp 

ooo  ooo 

O.IOO 

0.262 
0.363 
0.4*8 

0.539 
0.660 

49378 
49683 
49667 
51900 
55773 

49923 
49926 
50748 
5f477 
53182 
54345 

+4143 
+548 
+1065 
-\-i8fo 
+1282 
—1428 

0.125  to  0.174 

0.10  to  0.19 
0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.09 

1 
41 
64 
24 
3 

0.1370 
0.1486 
0.1531 
0.1549 
0.1657 

0.0070 
0.0107 
0.0114 
0.0130 
0.0213 

0.160 
0.359 
0.445 
0.535 
0.040 

52295 
54738 
55800 
57050 

59943 

52749 

54897 
56596 
58300 
01093 

+454 
+159 
+796 
+1250 
+1750 

0.175  to  0.224 

O.2O  to  O.29 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 
0.70  to  0.79 

i 
31 
125 
65 
21 
3 

oooooo 

0.0080 
0.0104 
0.0098 
0.0135 
0.0152 
0.0087 

0.240 
0.367 
0.441 
0.527 
0.616 
0.713 

54120 
59276 
60752 
62547 
62716 
65507 

55852 
59611 
60670 
62698 
63987 
65424 

+1732 
+335 
-82 
+151 
+1271 
—83 

0.225  to  0.274 

0.20  to  0.29 
0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 
0.70  to  0.79 
o.ooto  0.99 

1 
39 
137 
66 
18 
i 
i 

0.2300 
0.2458 
0.2489 
0.2490 
0.2495 
0.2740 
0.2280 

0.0070 
0.0079 
0.0105 
0.0132 
0.0141 
0.0/40 
0.0150 

0.260 
0.365 
0.451 
0.529 
0.627 
0.710 
0.940 

61090 
62185 
64425 
66107 
67048 
74970 
07595 

59909 
62463 
64644 
66436 
68465 
72302 
72395 

—1181 
+278 
+219 
+329 
+1417 
—2008 
-\-48oo 

0.275  to  0.324 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

18 
70 
29 
8 

0.2986 
0.2937 
0.2907 
0.2900 

0.0085 
0.0098 
0.0128 
0.0142 

0.366 
0.440 
0.540 
0.621 

65929 

67888 
69725 
72402 

66753 
68063 
70202 
71991 

+833 
+175 
+477 
—411 

0.325  to  0.374 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
0.60  to  0.69 

4 
14 
7 
2 
2 
5 

a 
i 

0.3443 
0.3396 
0.3354 
0.3675 

0.0200 
0.0086 
0.0114 
0.0105 

0.355 
0.437 
0.524 
0.610 

70954 
71170 
72365 
79515 

71286 
71660 

73572 
78286 

+332 
+490 
+1207 
—1229 

0.375  to  0.424 

0.30  to  0.39 
0.40  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.59 
o.ooto  0.09 
0.70  to  0.79 

0.3830 
0.3936 
03800 
0.4065 
03920 

0.0080 
0.0102 

O.OIIO 
0.0220  . 
O.OOSO 

0.355 
0.448 

OJOO 

0.045 
0.750 

73620 
75107 
79750 
88545 
85200 

73154 
76555 
77280 
83832 
83732 

-466 
+1448 
—2470 
—47V 
—1528 

is  over  1500  pounds.  In  the  basic  steel  there  are  17  groups  con- 
taining less  than  5  heats  and  9  of  these  agree  within  1500  pounds. 
Eight  groups  show  a  difference  greater  than  this  amount.  Taking 
both  acid  and  basic  steels,  out  of  29  "small"  groups  16  are  correct, 
and  of  the  13  that  are  beyond  the  limit  9  are  single  heats,  most  of 
them  being  steel  of  moderately  high  carbon. 

In  the  acid  steel  there  are  23  groups  containing  over  4  heats  each, 
and  all  of  them  are  within  the  limit  of  1500  lb.,  only  5  having  an 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  389 

error  exceeding  1000  pounds.  In  the  basic  steel  there  are  26  groups 
with  over  4  heats,  and  25  are  within  1500  lb.,  and  17  within  1000 
pounds.  There  is  1  group  of  53  heats,  averaging  about  0.1  per  cent, 
of  carbon,  which  shows  an  error  of  -|-  1810  pounds.  Putting  aside 
mathematical  errors  which  can  hardly  be  present  in  this  investiga- 
tion (owing  to  repeated  checking  of  the  totals  at  each  separate  re- 
arrangement), it  may  appear  probable  that  this  group  contains  some 
abnormal  bars,  and  it  may  also  appear  possible  that  some  of  the 
other  large  groups  show  an  agreement  through  the  averaging  of  bars 
showing  wide  differences  among  themselves. 

Table  XVII-Z  gives  some  information  on  this  point  Every 
group  in  Table  XVII-Y  comprising  more  than  50  heats  and  con- 
taining less  than  0.225  per  cent,  of  carbon  is  subdivided  so  as  to 
have  only  one-half  the  former  variation  in  manganese.  Thus,  if 
a  group  comprised  heats  ranging  from  0.4  to  0.49  per  cent,  of  man- 
ganese, it  is  subdivided  into  one  group  ranging  from  0.4  to  0.44 
per  cent.,  and  another  from  0.45  to  0.49  per  cent  If  the  original 
group  were  an  average  of  unlike  units,  it  is  probable  that  the  fact 
would  be  made  manifest  by  a  wide  difference  between  the  two 
parts,  but  in  no  case  is  such  a  difference  discernible. 

In  the  case  of  the  one  group  composed  of  53  heats  before  men- 
tioned, a  more  extended  analysis  is  given  in  Table  XVII-Z.  It  has 
been  divided  into  10  parts,  the  first  containing  only  those  heats  that 
contained  0.4  per  cent,  of  manganese,  the  second  those  with  0.41 
per  cent,  of  manganese,  and  so  on.  The  number  of  heats  in  some 
of  the  subdivisions  is  small,  and  complete  regularity  could  hardly 
be  expected,  but  in  these  10  subdivisions  the  smallest  difference  be- 
tween the  strength  as  calculated  by  the  formula  and  the  strength 
as  found  by  the  testing-machine  is  +  723  lb.,  and  the  greatest  is 
-f-2729  lb.,  so  that  the  deviation  of  this  group  from  the  general  rule 
is  not  due  to  one  or  two  abnormal  bars.  With  this  one  exception, 
the  cause  of  which  remains  unexplained,  all  the  large  groups  show 
a  difference  of  less  than  1500  lb.  between  the  actual  and  the  calcu- 
lated strength,  which  is  perhaps  as  close  an  agreement  as  could 
be  expected. 

A  careful  analysis  was  made  to  discover  whether  anything  could 
be  learned  from  the  so-called  errors.  If,  for  instance,  the  groups 
of  low  carbon  had  shown  a  considerable  and  uniform  minus  error 
and  the  groups  of  high  carbon  had  uniformly  shown  a  similar  plus 


390 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL 


TABLE  XVII-Z. 

Subdivision  of  the  Groups  in  Table  XVII-Y  that  contain  over 
Fifty  Heats,  and  are  below  0.225  per  cent,  in  carbon,  with  special 
subdivision  of  the  one  large  group  showing  a  difference  of  more 
than  1500  Ib.  between  the  actual  and  calculated  strength. 


Limits  of 
carbon  ; 
per  cent. 

Limits  of 
manganese  ; 
per  cent. 

Number  of  heats. 

Chemical  composition  ; 
per  cent. 

Ultimate  strength  ; 
pounds  per  square  inch. 

! 

I 

I 

! 

h 

1 

05 

13 
6 

1 

dj 

g 

>» 

PQ 

1 

i 
1 

3 

Acid  steel  : 
0.125  to  0174 

0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 

55 

41 

0.1459 
0.1477 

0.0569 
0.0564 

0.417 
0.470 

605fiO 
61483 

60484 
61250 

-76 
-233 

Basic  steel  : 
0.020  to  0.074 

0.10  to  0.14 
0.15  to  0.19 

56 
9 

0.0327 
0.0319 

0.0073 
0.0071 

0.120 
0.159 

45674 

45458 

44748 
44666 

-926 
-792 

0.075  to  0.124 

0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 
0.40 
0.41 
0.42 
0.43 
0.44 
0.45 
0.46 
047 
0.48 
0.49 

33 
20 
12 
4 
5 
4 
8 
4 
5 
3 

4 

0.0961 
0.0946 
0.0963 
0.0888 
0.0946 
0.1012 
0.0980 
0.0870 
0.0922 
0.0833 
0.1135 
0.0948 

0.0086 
0.0079 
0.0075 
0.0110 
0.0080 
0.0083 
0.0091 
0.0078 
0  0084 
0.0073 
0.0080 
0.0075 

0.418 
0.470 
0.400 
0.410 
0.420 
0.430 
0.440 
0.450 
0.460 
0.470 
0.480 
0.490 

49809 
49434 
48949 
49510 
49469 
50626 
51053 
48521 
49693 
48383 
50993 
49253 

51294 
51784 
50965 
50824 
51096 
51812 
51776 
50869 
51455 
50718 
53452 
51982 

+1485 
+2350 
+2016 
+1314 
+1627 
+1186 
+723 
+2348 
+1762 
+2335 
+2459 
+2729 

0.125  to  0.174 

0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 

32 
32 

0.1522 
0.1541 

0.0114 
0.0114 

0.418 
0.473 

55495 
56265 

56129 
57102 

+634 

+837 

0.175  to  0.224 

0.40  to  0.44 
0.45  to  0.49 
0.50  to  0.54 
0.55  to  0.59 

66 
59 
48 
17 

0.2038 
0.2046 
0.2063 
0.2049 

0.0090 
0.0107 
0.0139 
0.0124 

0.416 
0.468 
0.514 
0.566 

60344 
61208 
62358 
63086 

60095 
61247 
62584 
63199 

-249 
+39 
+226 
+113 

error,  then  it  would  be  probable  that  the  value  of  carbon  was  too 
high  and  the  base  too  low.  Investigation  failed  to  show  any  regu- 
lar law  either  for  groups  of  high  and  low  carbon,  or  for  groups  of 
high  and  low  manganese.  The  one  fact  which  appears  to  be  true 
of  both  acid  and  basic  steel  is  that  the  steels  that  are  low  in  carbon 
and  low  in  manganese  are  stronger  than  would  be  called  for  by  the 
formula,  and  it  seems  probable  that  this  is  due  to  iron  oxide. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Carbon. — In  acid  steel  each  0.01  per  cent  of  carbon  strength- 
ens steel  by  1000  Ib.  per  square  inch  when  the  carbon  is  determined 


INFLUENCE  OF  CERTAIN  ELEMENTS  ON  STEEL.  391 

"by  combustion.  The  strengthening  effect  is  1140  Ib.  for  each  0.01 
per  cent,  as  determined  by  color,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  color- 
test  does  not  determine  all  the  carbon  present. 

In  basic  steel  each  0.01  per  cent,  of  carbon  strengthens  steel  by 
770  Ib.  per  square  inch  when  the  carbon  is  determined  by  com- 
bustion. The  strengthening  effect  is  820  Ib.  for  each  0.01  per  cent, 
as  determined  by  color. 

Phosphorus. — Each  0.01  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  strengthens 
steel  by  1000  Ib.  per  square  inch. 

Manganese. — Each  0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  has  a  strength- 
ening effect  upon  steel,  and  the  effect  is  greater  as  the  content  of 
carbon  increases.  Below  a  certain  content  of  manganese  the  effect 
is  complicated  by  some  disturbing  condition,  probably  iron  oxide, 
so  that  a  decrease  in  manganese  in  very  low-carbon  steels  is  accom- 
panied by  an  increase  in  strength.  In  acid  steel  each  increase  of 
0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese  above  0.4  per  cent,  raises  the  strength 
of  acid  steel  an  amount  varying  from  80  Ib.  in  a  metal  contain- 
ing 0.1  per  cent,  of  carbon  to  400  Ib.  in  a  metal  containing  0.4 
per  cent,  of  carbon.  In  basic  steel  each  increase  above  0.3  per 
cent,  raises  the  strength  an  amount  varying  from  130  Ib.  in  a  metal 
containing  0.1  per  cent,  of  carbon  to  250  Ib.  in  a  metal  containing 
0.4  per  cent,  of  carbon. 

Sulphur. — The  effect  of  sulphur  on  the  strength  of  acid  and  of 
basic  steel  is  very  small. 

Formula. — From  the  foregoing  results,  the  following  formulae 
may  be  written,  in  which  C=0.01  per  cent  of  carbon,  P=0.01  per 
cent,  of  phosphorus,  Mn=0.01  per  cent,  of  manganese,  K=a  vari- 
able to  allow  for  heat  treatment,  and  the  answer  is  the  ultimate 
strength  in  pounds  per  square  inch.  The  coefficient  of  manganese 
in  acid  steel,  called  x,  is  the  value  given  in  Table  XVII-R,  and  ap- 
plies only  to  contents  above  0.4  per  cent.  The  value  of  manganese 
in  basic  steel,  called  y,  is  the  value  given  in  Table  XVII- V,  and 
applies  to  contents  above  0.3  per  cent. 

Formula  for  acid  steel,  carbon  by  combustion: 

40,000+1000  C+1000  P+z  Mn+R=Ultimate  Strength. 
Formula  for  basic  steel,  carbon  by  combustion: 

41,500+770  C+1000  P+y  Mn+R=Ultimate  Strength. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  STRUCTURAL  STEELS. 

SECTION  XVIIIa. — Influence  of  the  method  of  manufacture  on 
the  properties  of  steel. — The  first  problem  in  writing  specifications 
for  structural  steel  is  the  advisability  of  prescribing  the  method  by 
which  it  shall  be  manufactured.  Some  engineers  hold  that  the  way 
in  which  a  bar  or  plate  is  made  is  a  matter  entirely  beyond  their 
dominion.  Logically,  this  position  is  impregnable,  but  it  is  not 
so  practically,  for  although  there  is  no  essential  difference  in  the 
results  obtained  from  open-hearth  and  Bessemer  steel  in  the  test- 
ing machine,  there  is  good  testimony  to  show  that  the  product  of 
the  converter  is  an  inferior  metal.  The  evidence  against  Bessemer 
steel  is  made  up  of  scattered  individual  opinions,  many  made  on 
insufficient  evidence,  but  they  are  too  numerous  to  be  ignored,  and 
are  fortified  by  the  statements  of  men  whose  words  are  weighed, 
and  who  are  disinterested  in  their  decisions.  Thus  A.  E.  Hunt, 
with  long  experience  as  chief  of  The  Pittsburg  Testing  Laboratory, 
wrote  as  follows:*  "Numerous  cases  have  come  under  our  obser- 
vation of  angles  and  plates  which  broke  off  short  in  punching,  but 
although  makers  of  Bessemer  steel  claim  that  this  is  just  as  likely 
to  occur  in  open-hearth  metal,  we  have  as  yet  never  seen  an  in- 
stance of  failure  of  this  kind  in  open-hearth  steel." 

Mr.  Hunt  quotes  (loc.  cit.)  from  a  paper  by  Wailes  that  "these 
mysterious  failures  occur  in  steel  of  one  class,  viz.,  soft  steel  made 
by  the  Bessemer  process." 

There  is  also  the  testimony  of  W.  H.  White,  Director  of  Naval 
Construction,  Eoyal  Navy.f  "With  converter  steel  riveted  samples 
have  given  less  average  strength,  greater  variations  in  strength,  and 

*  The  Inspection  of  Materials  of  Construction  in  the  United  States.      Journal  I.  and  S. 
I.  Vol.  II,  1890,  p.  316. 

t  Experiments  with  Basic  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1892,  p.  35. 

392 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STRUCTURAL    STEELS.  393 

much,  more  irregularity  in  modes  of  fracture  than  similar  samples 
of  open-hearth  steel." 

My  own  experience  leads  me  to  think  that  Bessemer  steel  re- 
quires more  work  for  the  attainment  of  a  proper  structure  than 
open-hearth  metal,  so  that  a  thick  bar  is  more  apt  to  have  a  coarse 
crystalline  fracture.  This  may  be  ascribed  to  improper  heat  treat- 
ment, but  if  open-hearth  metal  would  not  be  injured  under  a  simi- 
lar exposure,  then  there  is  a  difference  between  the  metals,  and,  if 
this  be  acknowledged,  then  there  is  no  necessity  for  argument. 

Bessemer  metal  has  been  used  for  rails,  and  these  are  exposed  to 
great  stress  and  shock,  but  a  large  number  of  rails  break  in  service, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  number  of  broken  rails  would  be  reduced 
if  they  were  made  of  open-hearth  steel.  The  making  of  open- 
hearth  rails  is  a  commercial  question,  and  involves  immense  sums 
of  money.  Nearly  all  rails  in  America  are  made  by  the  Bessemer 
process,  and  each  rail-making  plant  must  be  regarded  as  a  unit. 
The  converting  department  is  one  factor  of  this  unit,  its  whole 
scheme  of  operation  being  designed  for  the  one  purpose  of  supply- 
ing the  blooming  mill  with  just  the  right  quantity  of  ingots.  It 
may  be  that  at  a  given  rail-making  works  there  is  no  open-hearth 
furnace  plant  at  all.  In  such  a  case  if  open-hearth  rails  are  wanted 
they  can  be  made  only  by  some  such  changes  as  the  following : 

(1)  Bring  cold  blooms  from  other  works,  and  erect  a  plant  of 
heating  furnaces. 

(2)  Bring  cold  ingots  from  other  works,  with  the  same  necessity 
for  heating  furnace  equipment.     In  both  cases  the  extra  fuel  con- 
sumption and  waste  in  heating  would  be  serious  matters. 

(3)  The  foregoing  propositions  are  temporary  and  the  only  true 
solution  is  an  open-hearth  plant.    This  calls  for  a  large  amount  of 
capital,  and  when  the  plant  gets  into  operation  the  Bessemer  plant 
will  become  a  scrap  heap  of  no  value  whatever,  for  in  order  that 
it  shall  be  of  any  value  it  must  run,  and  in  order  that  it  may  run, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  build  a  complete  plant  of  rolling  mills  to 
handle  its  product. 

(4)  Having  written  off  the  value  of  the  Bessemer  outfit  as  a 
dead  loss,  it  is  necessary  to  guarantee  business  to  the  open-hearth 
department  in  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  it  in  steady  operation  at  a 
price  in  proportion  to  the  increased  cost.    It  is  out  of  the  question 
to  operate  the  open-hearth  plant  on  certain  orders  for  open-hearth 


394  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

rails  at  a  slightly  higher  price,  and  then  start  up  the  Bessemer 
plant  on  other  orders  and  let  the  open-hearth  lie  idle. 

(5)  It  may  seem  possible  to  have  a  number  of  mills  and  have  the 
open-hearth  and  Bessemer  plants  both  operating  continuously  and 
distributing  their  product  as  orders  demand.  One  or  two  works  in 
the  country  are  able  to  do  this  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  do  it  and  maintain  the  proper  coordination  of  de- 
pendent factors  and  keep  the  operating  costs  in  each  department  at 
a  minimum. 

We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  small  lots  of  open-hearth  rails 
may  be  made,  but  their  production  on  a  large  scale  means  a  plant 
laid  out  with  that  end  in  view,  and  if  this  plant  is  not  guaranteed 
a  regular  line  of  business  extending  over  many  years  at  an  increased 
price,  it  will  be  a  losing  venture. 

In  the  case  of  structural  shapes  there  is  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
all  needed  sections  in  open-hearth  steel,  and  it  should  be  used  in 
all  structures,  like  railroad  bridges,  where  the  metal  is  under  con- 
stant shock.  The  method  by  which  the  steel  is  made  cannot  be  dis- 
covered by  ordinary  chemical  analysis.  Certain  experiments  indi- 
cate that  there  is  a  difference  between  Bessemer  and  open-hearth 
steel  in  the  character  of  the  occluded  gases,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
any  expert  would  risk  his  reputation  by  asserting  positively,  from 
any  such  evidence,  that  a  certain  steel  was  made  by  either  one  or 
the  other  process. 

SEC.  XVIIIb. — Chemical  specifications. — Another  point  concern- 
ing which  there  is  room  for  discussion  is  the  propriety  of  limiting 
the  chemical  composition.  Some  engineers  contend  that,  if  the 
physical  tests  are  fulfilled,  the  making  of  the  metal  is  an  entirely 
foreign  matter.  This  position  is  untenable,  for  it  would  be  possible 
to  make  a  steel  with  0.25  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  which  would 
satisfy  the  ordinary  tests  of  strength  and  ductility,  and  although 
such  a  content  could  usually  be  detected  in  the  shops,  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  bars  might  pass  muster.  It  is  impossible  to  fix 
a  limit  of  phosphorus  below  which  there  is  no  danger  of  treacherous 
breakage,  but  it  is  certain  that,  as  the  content  is  reduced,  the  dan- 
ger of  disaster  disappears.  On  this  account  it  becomes  the  duty 
of  the  engineer  to  specify  the  composition  of  the  metal  that  he  buys. 
In  ordinary  roof-trusses  and  similar  work  there  is  no  necessity 
for  stringency,  and  Bessemer  steel  with  a  maximum  content  of  .10 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STRUCTURAL   STEELS.  395 

per  cent,  of  phosphorus  may  be  allowed;  but  in  .railroad  bridges, 
traveling  cranes,  and  other  structures  where  the  steel  is  exposed 
to  moving  loads  and  continued  shock,  and  where  the  consequence 
of  failure  may  not  be  measured  in  money,  the  specifications  should 
require  the  use  of  open-hearth  steel.  The  phosphorus  limit  in  acid 
steel  should  be  .08  per  cent,  and  in  long  span  bridges  it  should  be 
.06  per  cent.  In  basic  steel  it  should  always  be  below  .04  per  cent. 

It  is  necessary  also  to  specify  the  manner  in  which  the  sample 
shall  be  taken  for  analysis.  There  are  four  methods  of  doing  this, 
of  which  only  one  is  correct,  and  this  correct  one  is  seldom  or  never 
used.  Taking  for  illustration  a  rolled  billet  of  steel  three  inches 
square,  its  cross-section  may  be  mentally  divided  into  nine  equal 
squares,  each  having  an  area  of  one  square  inch.  Eight  of  these 
squares  are  next  to  the  surface,  while  one  is  in  the  interior.  This 
central  square  will  include  the  segregated  portion  of  the  mass. 
Ordinarily  a  sample  of  such  a  billet  would  be  taken  by  drilling 
to  a  depth  of  half  an  inch,  but  this  does  not  touch  the  interior  core, 
and  the  chemical  determinations  will  show  too  low  a  content  of 
segregating  metalloids/ 

Another  method  is  to  drill  to  the  center,  and  take  all  the  drillings 
that  are  made.  Two-thirds  of  these  drillings  will  come  from  the 
outside  squares  and  one-third  from  the  inside,  or  a  ratio  of  two 
from  the  outside  and  one  from  the  interior,  while  the  true  ratio  is 
eight  to  one ;  hence  the  content  of  segregating  metalloids  found  by 
this  method  is  higher  than  the  true  average. 

A  third  method  is  to  take  drillings  from  the  central  portion,  but 
this  will  give  a  higher  content  of  certain  elements  than  will  be 
found  throughout  the  bar. 

The  fourth  way  is  to  plane  the  entire  surface  and  get  a  true 
average,  but  this  practice  is  seldom  carried  out. 

In  the  case  of  angles,  a  fair  sample  can  be  obtained  by  drilling 
into  the  bar  as  far  as  the  center,  the  results  being  only  slightly 
higher  than  the  true  values.  In  plates  it  is  more  difficult  to  take  a 
fair  sample,  since  the  segregated  portion  is  in  the  body  of  the 
sheet,  and  it  is  usually  impracticable  to  drill  a  hole  without  injur- 
ing the  member.  Great  injustice  may  be  done  by  unusual  methods 
of  sampling.  It  would  be  perfectly  right  to  state  in  the  contract 
that  drillings  were  to  be  taken  from  the  center  of  the  plate,  but  it 
is  not  right  to  take  them  in  this  way  in  the  absence  of  a  previous 


396  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

understanding.  Jf  the  tests  are  made  on  the  center  portion  the 
allowable  maximum  of  phosphorus  and  sulphur  should  be  raised 
50  per  cent. ;  e.  g.,  from  .04  to  .06  or  .06  to  .09  per  cent. 

The  elements  other  than  phosphorus  need  not  be  rigidly  limited, 
for  some  discretion  should  be  left  to  the  maker  in  the  attainment  of 
definite  physical  results.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  specifications 
that  give  an  upper  limit  for  every  element  and  require  a  tensile 
strength  which  cannot  be  obtained  by  the  formula.  The  carbon 
should  always  be  left  open,  so  that  if  the  maker  wishes  to  reduce 
the  phosphorus  he  may  use  carbon  to  get  strength.  Manganese  may 
be  limited  to  .60  per  cent,  on  the  steels  under  64,000  pounds  per 
square  inch,  and  to  .80  per  cent,  on  harder  metal.  This  will  ensure 
a  safe  material,  and  not  be  a  burden  on  the  manufacturer.  Silicon 
is  of  little  importance,  but  the  maximum  may  be  placed  at  .04  per 
cent,  for  soft  steel. 

Sulphur  concerns  the  manufacturer  more  than  the  engineer,  for 
if  too  high  the  bar  will  crack  in  rolling  and  be  imperfect,  while  it 
has  no  marked  effect  on  the  ductility  of  the  finished  piece.  In  eye- 
bars,  however,  there  is  danger  that  high  sulphur  may  cause  crystal- 
lization during  the  heating  necessary  to  form  the  eye. 

Copper  may  be  entirely  neglected,  for  no  ill  effect  upon  the  cold 
properties  of  low  steel  has  ever  been  traced  to  its  action,  while 
thousands  of  tons  of  excellent  metal  have  been  made  with  a  content 
of  .75  per  cent. 

Rivet  steel,  like  eye-bar  flats,  stands  on  a  different  footing  from 
other  structural  metal,  for  this  must  be  heated  and  worked  after 
leaving  the  place  of  manufacture.  Only  the  best  of  material  should 
be  used,  and  it  should  be  so  soft  that  it  will  not  be  injured  by  cold 
working  or  crystallized  by  overheating.  The  phosphorus  should  not 
be  over  .04  per  cent.,  the  sulphur  not  over  .05  per  cent.,  and  the 
tensile  strength  not  over  60,000  pounds  per  square  inch. 

SEC.  XVIIIc. — Use  of  soft  steel  in  structural  work. — It  is  not 
possible  to  arbitrarily  state  just  what  is  the  best  tensile  strength  for 
every  purpose,  but  in  my  opinion  a  softer  metal  should  be  used  for 
bridges  than  is  often  employed,  because,  although  a  slight  sacrifice 
is  made  in  the  ultimate  strength,  there  is  a  gain  in  working  strength 
due  to  higher  elastic  ratio,  and  a  decided  increase  in  toughness  and 
resistance  to  shock,  so  that  the  calculations  may  be  made  on  the 
same  basis  for  the  working  load  as  with  a  harder  metal.  The  fact 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STRUCTURAL    STEELS. 


397 


that  the  elastic  ratio  rises  as  the  ultimate  strength  decreases  is  not 
generally  recognized,  but  will  be  shown  in  Table  XVIII-A.  This 
compares  the  groups  of  angles  in  Table  XIV-H,  which  are  made 
by  the  same  process,  and  are  of  the  same  thickness,  and  contain 
the  same  percentage  of  phosphorus.  In  every  case  the  stronger 
steel  gives  a  lower  elastic  ratio. 

TABLE  XVIII-A. 

Rise  in  Elastic  Ratio  with  Decrease  in  Ultimate  Strength. 


Kind  of  steel. 

Content  of  phos- 
phorus; per  cent. 

Thickness  of  angle, 
in  inches. 

Harder  steels. 

Softer  steels. 

Rise  in  elastic  ratio 
in  softer  steels  ; 
per  cent. 

Av.  ultimate 
strength  ; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Average  elastic 
limit;  pounds 
per  square 
Inch. 

Average  elastic 
ratio;  per 
cent. 

n.-  .  ultimate 
Itrength; 
rounds  per 
jquare  Inch. 

Average  elastic 
limit;  pounds 
per  square 
Inch. 

Average  elastic 
ratio;  per 
cent. 

Basic  O.  H. 

below  .04 

A  to  f 
A  to  } 

a  si 

58865 
68538 
59235 
59125 

89692 
87827 

87487 
36035 

67.48 
64.62 
63.28 
60.95 

52533 
53171 
51903 
51923 

M9B4 

84891 

84026 
32356 

69.07 
65.62 
65.56 
62.81 

1.64 
1.00 
2.28 
1.36 

Acid  O.  H. 

.05  to  .07 

SSI 

65656 
65631 

43713 
42191 

66.58 
64.28 

60845 
60695 

40891 
89415 

67.21 
64.94 

0.63 
0.66 

Acid  O.  H. 

.07  to  .10 

$tof 

66365 
65777 

44486 
42817 

67.03 
65.09 

60064 
60583 

41143 
40170 

68.50 
66.80 

1.47 
1.21 

Acid  Bess. 

.07  to  .10 

*S! 

66277 
65940 

46422 
45280 

70.04 
68.66 

60659 
59882 

43417 
42518 

71.58 
.71.00 

254 

The  tendency  in  the  first  epoch  of  steel  structures  was  toward 
a  hard  alloy,  but  later  practice  has  been  a  continual  progress  toward 
toughness.  There  was  a  halt  at  a  tensile  strength  of  60,000  pounds, 
not  on  account  of  any  magic  virtue  in  the  figure,  but  because  ordi- 
nary mild  steels  gave  that  result,  and  a  higher  price  was  charged 
for  softer  metal.  Conditions  today  are  different,  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  basic  hearth  has  altered  the  economic  situation.  A  steel 
of  50,000  to  58,000  pounds  per  square  inch  is  a  most  attractive 
material,  possessing  all  the  good  characteristics  of  wrought-iron 
with  greater  strength  and  toughness. 

In  many  specifications  the  option  is  given  between  acid  and  basic 
open-hearth  steel,  but  it  costs  more  to  make  low-phosphorus  metal 
by  the  acid  than  by  the  basic  process,  so  that  the  terms  of  the  speci- 
fication should  be  enforced  after  the  contract  is  awarded,  out  of 
justice  to  other  bidders  who  have  based  their  calculations  on  the 


398  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

letter  of  the  law.  In  steel  above  .08  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  this 
difference  in  cost  disappears. 

SEC.  XVIIId. — Tests  on  plates. — A  spread  of  10,000  pounds  per 
square  inch  in  the  ultimate  strength  should  be  allowed  on  all  sec- 
tions, but  it  is  especially  necessary  on  plates.  In  trying  to  fill 
rigid  specifications  where  no  allowance  is  made  for  thickness,  or 
where  the  allowable  limits  of  strength  are  too  narrow,  the  plate 
rollers  have  been  driven  to  expedients  which  are  dangerously  near 
the  line  of  deception.  Thus,  if  it  is  required  that  a  test  be  cut  from 
one  plate  out  of  ten,  the  manufacturer  will  leave  a  coupon  on  every 
plate  and  test  strips  are  cut  from  immediately  next  to  them ;  after 
finding  which  plates  fill  the  requirements,  the  coupons  are  cut  from 
the  others  and  the  inspector  is  told  that  the  pile  is  ready  for  him. 

If  every  plate  is  to  be  tested,  then  a  coupon  is  left  upon  each 
corner  and  a  contiguous  strip  is  privately  tested  by  the  maker. 
After  finding  which  corner  gives  the  best  results,  the  other  coupons 
are  cut  off  and  the  plate  submitted  to  the  inspector.  This  is  not 
dishonest,  for  any  one  corner  represents  the  plate  just  as  much  as 
any  other  corner,  and  it  would  manifestly  be  absurd  to  designate 
from  which  corner  the  test  is  to  be  taken.  It  is  also  certain  that 
no  one  corner  represents  the  center  of  the  plate,  for  the  edges  are 
finished  colder  than  the  center,  and  in  a  plate  rolled  direct  from  an 
ingot  the  corners  in  no  way  represent  the  part  which  corresponds 
to  the  segregated  portion  of  the  ingot. 

It  is  by  care  in  the  preliminary  testing  rather  than  by  improve- 
ment in  the  quality  of  material  that  advances  have  been  made.  The 
mill  managers  have  been  aided  by  the  inspectors,  for  most  of  these 
men  are  anxious  to  pass  material  which  they  know  to  be  good.  They 
allow  the  manufacturer  to  put  part  of  a  heat  into  thick  plates  and 
part  into  thin,  and  make  the  tests  on  three-eighths  or  one-half  inch 
gauge;  they  pass  over  the  sheets  that  are  100  inches  wide,  and  cut 
the  coupons  from  plates  that  are  less  than  70  inches.  On  the  other 
hand,  higher  tests  should  be  called  for  on  plates  under  42  inches 
wide.  This  is  because  they  can  be  made  on  a  universal  mill,  and 
since  better  results  can  be  had  in  this  way,  it  is  right  to  demand 
what  there  is  a  simple  way  of  obtaining.  No  allowance  need  be 
made  for  a  variation  in  tensile  strength  for  different  shapes,  but 
concessions  should  be  made  for  differences  in  thickness.  This  arises 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  generally  known  beforehand  whether  a  cer- 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STRUCTURAL    STEELS.  399 

tain  heat  is  to  be  rolled  into  angles,  or  plates,  or  eye-bars,  and  it  is 
seldom  necessary  to  put  part  of  a  heat  into  one  shape  and  part  into 
another.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  almost  always  necessary  to  roll 
a  charge  into  more  than  one  thickness  and  more  than  one  size  of 
angles,  plates,  etc.,  and  it  is  an  onerous  restriction  if  proper  allow- 
ance be  not  made  for  the  variations  due  to  different  thickness. 

SEC.  XVIIIe. — Standard  size  of  test-pieces. — In  all  the  tensile 
tests  a  length  of  eight  inches  should  be  taken  as  the  standard  for 
all  sections.  For  several  years  there  have  been  conferences  held  in 
foreign  lands  to  establish  uniform  methods  of  testing,  and  it  has 
been  officially  recommended  that  in  the  case  of  rounds  the  length 
of  the  test-piece  shall  be  proportional  to  the  square  root  of  the  sec- 
tional area,  the  formula  being  given  as  follows :  £=12.0  V  f  when 
Zr=the  length  in  inches  and  /=the  sectional  area  in  square  inches. 
In  Table  XVIII-B  I  have  calculated  from  this  formula  the  proper 
length  for  rounds  from  one-half  inch  to  1-J-  inches  in  diameter.  The 
length  is  greatly  reduced  as  the  diameter  grows  less,  and  this  is 
equivalent  to  demanding  less  elongation,  while  on  larger  sizes  the 
length  is  increased,  this  being  the  same  thing  as  demanding  more 
elongation. 

It  is  difficult  to  compare  this  system,  in  which  the  elongation  is 
constant  and  the  length  varies,  with  the  system  wherein  the  length 
is  constant  and  the  required  elongation  varies;  but  an  attempt  is 
made  to  do  this  by  obtaining  the  proportional  elongation  for  the 
different  lengths  from  Curve  AA  in  Fig.  XVI-A,  the  results  being 
given  in  the  last  column  of  the  table.  A  long  time  has  been  spent 
in  arriving  at  the  standard  length  of  eight  inches,  and  it  would  be 
very  unfortunate  if  a  complicated  substitute  were  introduced.  Such 
a  change,  however,  is  unlikely  from  present  indications. 

It  is  understood  throughout  this  book  that  the  elastic  limit  is 
determined  by  the  drop  of  the  beam.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  that 
group  of  agitators  who  are  trying  to  introduce  new  meanings  to 
old  terms,  and  to  apply  old  terms  to  new  factors.  It  matters  not 
whether  the  drop  of  the  beam  does  or  does  not  mark  the  spot  where 
the  elongation  ceases  to  be  exactly  proportionate  to  the  load.  It 
represents  a  critical  point  of  failure,  and  this  is  acknowledged  by 
the  agitators  before  mentioned,  who  recommend  its  determination 
on  all  test-pieces. 

Moreover,  it  is  shown  in  Section  XVIm  that  this  is  a  definite 


400 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


point  which  can  be  determined  more  accurately  than  the  reduction 
of  area,  and  nearly  as  accurately  as  the  elongation.  If  a  new  point 
is  desired,  such  as  shown  by  an  autographic  device,  then  this  new 

TABLE  XVIII-B. 
Calculation  of  12.0  \/  f  for  Different  Diameters. 


si 


.3067 
.4417 
.6013 
.7854 
.9940 
1.2271 


.443 

.554 
.665 

.775 

.886 

.997 

1.108 


t.  of  elon§ 
r  lengths 
ing  colur 
urve  AA 
VI-A 


5.32 
6.65 
7.98 
9.30 
10.63 
11.96 
13.30 


*1°M 


33.2 
81.5 
80.2 
29.3 
28.7 
27.8 
27.1 


point  should  be  given  a  new  name.  The  term  "elastic  limit"  has 
been  preempted,  by  general  use,  as  part  of  a  system  of  trade  nomen- 
clature to  designate  the  point  where  the  beam  drops. 

Upon  this  determination  all  specifications  and  contracts  are  based, 
and  any  attempt  to  ascertain  the  elastic  limit  in  any  other  way 
is  a  change  in  the  contract  requirements  which  would  not  be  sus- 
tained in  a  court  of  equity.  All  calculations  upon  factors  of  safety 
in  existing  bridges  are  based  upon  this  "drop  of  the  beam,"  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  one  arbitrary  point  should 
be  substituted  for  another  and  no  reason  why  future  work  should 
not  be  carried  on  under  the  present  established  and  well-understood 
system. 

SEC.  XVIIIf. — The  quench-test. — In  regard  to  what  is  known  as 
the  quench-test,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  an  absurdity  when 
applied  to  ordinary  structural  material.  It  was  defended  by  Mr. 
Hunt*  on  the  ground  that  it  would  guard  against  careless  heating 
and  cooling  in  the  mill  or  shops,  but  this  suggests  the  query  why 
such  carelessness  should  be  tolerated.  It  is  assumed  that  the  work 
is  done  by  mills  and  shops  that  understand  their  business,  and  the 
steel  should  be  made  to  fit  the  work  in  hand  and  not  the  ignorance 
of  middlemen.  It  is  right  to  make  severe  tests  on  the  cold  proper- 

*  The  Inspection  of  Materials  of  Construction  in  the  United  States.    Journal  I.  and  S. 
I.,  Vol.  II,  1890,  p.  312. 


CLASSIFICATION    OF    STRUCTURAL   STEELS.  401 

ties,  for  the  derailment  of  a  train  will  subject  certain  members  to 
great  deformation;  such  an  accident  is  a  possibility  which  human 
foresight  seems  powerless  to  avoid,  but  carelessness  in  the  shop 
stands  on  a  different  footing,  for  it  is  caused  by  positive  and  un- 
necessary acts  in  error. 

The  quench-test  depends  upon  slight  differences  in  the  methods 
of  heating  and  cooling,  differences  almost  imperceptible  and  unex- 
plainable,  and  the  same  steel  niay  be  made  to  pass  or  fail  under 
modes  of  treatment  which  seem  inherently  identical.  It  would  ap- 
pear, therefore,  that  no  warrant  exists  for  the  imposition  of  this  test 
upon  material  for  a  railroad  bridge,  which  is  not  calculated  to 
withstand  a  conflagration  followed  by  a  flood.  This  position  is 
being  taken  by  a  large  number  of  engineers,  and  a  quench-test  is 
rapidly  becoming  a  thing  of  the  past. 

SEC.  XYIIIg. — Standard  specifications. — The  first  successful  ef- 
fort in  America  to  standardize  specifications  for  iron  and  steel  was 
made  in  August,  1895,  by  the  Association  of  American  Steel  Manu- 
facturers. The  formation  of  the  American  Section  of  the  Inter- 
national Association  for  Testing  Materials  on  June  16,  1898,  was 
the  next  important  move  in  this  direction,  but  the  work  of  both 
organizations  has  been  superseded  by  the  formation  of  The  Ameri- 
can Society  for  Testing  Materials.  This  is  an  offshoot  of  the  In- 
ternational Society,  and  its  creation  was  made  advisable  by  two 
conditions : 

(1)  The  American  members  deem  of  first  importance  the  con- 
struction of  a  uniform  set  of  specifications  for  the  use  of  buyer  and 
seller,  while  the  foreign  members  wish  to  discuss  the  refinements  in 
methods  of  testing,  postponing  to  the  future  the  construction  of  a 
set  of  specifications. 

(2)  The  results  thus  far  obtained  in  America  toward  making 
working  specifications  render  it  very  desirable  that  the  work  be 
pursued  under  some  definite  organization,  representing  engineers, 
manufacturers,  inspectors  and  investigators. 

The  society  was  definitely  organized  at  Atlantic  City  on  June  12, 
1902,  and  elected  as  its  secretary,  Prof.  Edgar  Marburg,  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia,  Pa.  It  publishes  for 
general  circulation  its  standard  specifications  on  steel,  and  is  trying 
to  harmonize  by  open  discussion  at  its  meetings  the  conflicting  views 
held  by  different  engineering  societies  and  committees. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WELDING. 

SECTION  XlXa. — Influence  of  structure  on  the  welding  proper- 
ties.— Wrought-iron  may  be  welded  so  that  the  union  is  as  strong 
as  the  rest  of  the  bar,  for  by  upsetting  the  piece  there  can  be  extra 
work  put  upon  the  metal,  and  since  the  strength  of  the  original  bar 
was  dependent  upon  a  great  number  of  welds,  the  additional  local 
heating  and  hammering  may  give  a  superior  strength.  Unfortu- 
nately, failure  almost  alwa}^s  takes  place  near  the  weld  under  de- 
structive tests.  A  rod  may  break  a  short  distance  from  the  actual 
union,  but  this  by  no  means  shows  perfect  workmanship,  for  it 
arises  from  the  overheating  of  the  iron,  without  subsequent  work 
to  develop  a  proper  structure. 

In  steel  the  conditions  are  different,  for  the  bar  is  not  a  collec- 
tion of  fibers  and  welds,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  any  im- 
provement in  a  properly  worked  piece  by  cutting  it  in  halves  and 
putting  it  together  again.  It  is  conceivable  that  a  bar  may  be  under- 
worked or  overheated,  and  that  additional  work  can  enhance  the 
strength  at  the  point  of  welding,  but  this  assumption  of  a  bad 
material  to  start  with  may  be  neglected.  It  is  also  possible  to  finish 
the  hammering  on  a  welded  piece  at  a  low  temperature  and  thereby 
exalt  the  ultimate  strength,  but  this  will  give  a  less  ductile  material. 

It  is  also  possible  to  have  the  weld  stronger  than  the  adjacent 
parts  of  the  bar,  for  steel  will  be  crystallized  by  high  heat  more 
readily  than  wrought-iron,  and  hence  it  can  happen  that  the  metal 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  weld  has  a  bad  structure  due  to  lack 
of  hammering  after  high  heating.  The  higher  the  critical  tempera- 
ture necessary. to  produce  crystallization,  the  less  the  danger  from 
this  source,  so  that  freedom  from  phosphorus  and  sulphur  is  a  mat- 
ter of  importance. 

The  difference  in  crystallizing  power  between  wrought-iron  and 
steel  makes  a  comparison  of  the  two  impossible,  but  it  may  be 

402 


WELDING.  403 

profitable  TO  quote  from  Holley  the  following  conclusions  con- 
cerning iron:* 

"(1)  None  of  the  ingredients  except  carbon  in  the  proportions 
present  seems  to  very  notably  affect  the  welding  by  ordinary  meth- 
ods. [The  maximum  percentages  were  P,  .317 ;  Si,  .321 ;  Mn,  .097 ; 
S,  .015;  Cu,  .43;  Ni,  .34;  Co,  .11;  Slag,  2.262.] 

"(2)  The  welding  power  by  ordinary  methods  is  varied  as  much 
by  the  amount  of  reduction  in  rolling  as  by  the  ordinary  differences 
in  composition. 

"(3)  The  ordinary  practice  of  welding  is  capable  of  radical  im- 
provement, the  most  promising  field  being  in  the  direction  of  weld- 
ing in  a  non-oxidizing  atmosphere." 

SEC.  XlXb. — Tensile  tests  on  welded  bars. — The  allowable  con- 
tents of  metalloids  given  in  the  foregoing  synopsis  will  show  the 
gulf  that  separates  iron  from  steel,  and  this  will  be  further  indicated 
by  Table  XIX- A,  which  gives  tests  on  welded  steel  bars  of  different 
compositions,  the  investigation  having  been  conducted  under  my 
own  direction.  The  lack  of  certainty  and  regularity  is  evident,  and 
yet  the  smiths  were  men  of  long  experience  in  handling  steel,  and 
fully  understood  that  individual  results  were  to  be  compared.  The 
bars  were  of  a  size  most  easily  heated  and  quickly  handled,  but  the 
record  is  extremely  unsatisfactory. 

In  the  rounds,  each  workman  has  at  least  one  bad  weld  against 
him,  while  there  is  only  one  heat  which  gave  uniformly  good  re- 
sults. Picking  out  the  worst  individual  weld  of  each  workman, 
blacksmith  "A"  obtained  only  70  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  origi- 
nal bar,  "B"  54  per  cent.,  "C"  58  per  cent.,  and  "D"  only  44  per 
cent.  The  forging  steel  showed  one  weld  with  only  48  per  cent., 
the  common  soft  steel  44  per  cent.,  while  even  the  pure  basic  steel 
gave  one  test  as  low  as  59  per  cent.  In  some  cases  where  the  break 
took  place  away  from  the  weld,  the  elongation  was  nearly  up  to  the 
standard,  this  being  true  of  the  four  tests  of  the  seventh  group,  and 
it  should  be  noted  that  this  metal  contained  .35  per  cent,  of  copper, 
but  in  the  other  pieces  the  stretch  was  low  and  the  fracture  so  sil- 
very that  it  was  plain  the  structure  of  the  bar  had  been  ruined.  In 
most  cases  where  the  test-bar  broke  in  the  weld,  the  pieces  parted 
at  the  surfaces  of  contact,  showing  that  no  true  union  had  taken 

*  The  Strength  of  Wrought-Iron  as  Affected  by  its  Composition  and  by  its  Reduction  in 
Rolling.    Trans.  A.  I.  M.  £.,  Vol.  VI,  p.  101. 


404 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


place;  one  or  two  fractures  were  homogeneous,  but  they  showed  the 
coarse  crystallization  that  follows  overheating. 

The  lap  welds  represent  the  method  used  in  making  pipe,  and 
are  a  better  criterion  of  the  welding  quality  of  the  steel  than  the 
round  pieces,  for  in  making  the  union  the  pieces  were  simply  laid 
together  with  no  upsetting.  All  of  this  steel,  both  Bessemer  and 
open-hearth,  had  been  pronounced  suitable  for  pipe,  although  it 

TABLE  XIX-A. 
Tensile  Tests  on  Welded  Bars  of  Steel  and  Wrought-Iron. 

Figures  In  parentheses  indicate  that  the  bar  broke  In  the  weld.    N=natural  bar; 
W=welded  bar.    *  denotes  that  elongation  is  measured  in  2  inches. 


Kind  of 
steel. 

Conditions  of  test 

Composition;  per  cent. 

N=natural.  W= 
welded. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

4 

00§ 

11 

Is 

S  en 

rj  y 

ort 
3"* 

Reduction  of  area; 
per  cent. 

i 

9 
I 

fc 

C. 

Mn. 

P. 

S. 

Cu. 

Acid 
0    H. 

forging 

UN 

*r> 

.20 

.89 

.089 

.03 

.35 

N 
W 
W 

w 

W 

46670 
45890 
45580 

70450 
60940 
55090 
40840 
42190 

26.25 
*10.00 
*9.00 
*7.00 
*8.00 

53.50 
19.73 
7.55 
8.12 
4.04 

'A* 

B 

c 

D 

Acid 
Bess, 
forging 

Ipl 

&S    * 

.25 

1.30 

.083 

.05 

.85 

N 
W 

w 
w 
w 

56140 
56750 

86600 
68810 
55020 
62060 
41930 

22.25 
*4.00 
*6.00 
*5.00 
*3.00 

85.40 
29.29 
0.78 
6.50 
2.10 

'A' 

B 
C 
D 

Acid 
CK  H. 

soft. 

fllf 

is  * 

.09 

.46 

.08 

.85 

N 
W 

w 
w 
w 

40980 
38230 
44660 
45030 

60680 
61060 
60380 
65610 
(26640) 

80.00 
*66.83 
*36.00 

*i2.bd 

53.20 
56.51 
58.60 
56.28 
4.53 

*  A' 
B 
C 
D 

Acid 
0.  H. 
soft. 

llsi 
*!  » 

.09 

.39 

.076 

.85 

N 
W 

w 
w 

w 

38940 
87550 
87400 
40910 
89220 

56900 
57650 
(42740) 
(43910) 
58790 

28.75 
*89.00 
*9.00 
*10.50 
*84.00 

59.89 
62.18 
13.48 
14.55 
62.29 

'A' 

B 
C 

D 

Acid 
0    H. 
soft. 

.dir 
212  P/S 

ir* 

.09 

.40 

.08 

.35 

N 
W 

w 
w 
w 

41670 
83740 

88300 
84460 

56300 
(39490) 
(30550) 
53880 
50020 

80.00 
*6.00 
*7.00 
*37.00 
*16.00 

62.56 
8.63 
10.79 
65.46 
23.22 

'A' 

B 

c 

D 

.06 

Basic 
O.  H. 

soft. 

ifif 

»8    * 

.55 

.019 

.35 

N 
W 

w 
w 
w 

83880 
37660 

85370 
81820 

51760 
58650 
(30640) 
(51850) 
49690 

82.75 
*32.00 
*8.00 
*27.00 
*41.00 

65.85 
59.55 
13.88 
46.77 
67.85 

.  .  .1 

A 

B 
C 
D 

Basic 
0.  H. 

BOft. 

iw 

*2   " 

.06 

.80 

.014 

.35 

N 
W 

w 
w 
w 

82580 
41930 
85470 

88280 
89720 

48990 
54530 
52100 
54200 
55110 

81.75 
*36.00 
*39.00 

*41.bd 

71.56 
66.68 
70.81 
72.81 
70.61 

'A' 

B 

c 

D 

WELDING. 


405 


be  a  revelation  to  most  metallurgists  that  such  a  high  content 
of  copper  could  be  allowed.  All  the  bars  broke  across  the  weld  with 
a  more  or  less  crystalline  fracture,  there  being  no  instance  where 
the  separation  was  at  the  plane  of  union,  so  that,  while  thorough 
welding  was  proven,  it  was  evident  from  the  lessened  ductility  that 
the  metal  was  overheated  during  the  operation. 

TABLE  XIX-A.— Continued. 


Kind  of 
steel. 

Conditions  of  test. 

Composition;  percent. 

N=natural.  W= 
welded. 

Elastic  limit; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Ultimate  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Elongation  in  8 
inches;  percent. 

Reduction  of  area; 
per  cent. 

Name  of  smith. 

C. 

Mn. 

P. 

S. 

Cu. 

Basic 
O.  H. 

soft. 

2  rift*0' 

tr* 

.08 

.50 

.027 

. 

.35 

N 
W 
W 
W 

w 

39820 
37330 
40880 
44510 

62000 
(49210) 
69460 
68380 
(55560) 

80.00 
*9.00 
*30.00 

'*i7.bd 

65.96 
8.22 
48.15 

48.54 

A 
B 
C 
D 

Acid 
Bess. 

80ft. 

Ii 

!! 

r 

.06 

.36 

.032 

.064 

.C9 

N 
W 

40780 
42780 

59140 

60560 

29.50 
7.50 

47.65 
21.60 

.  .  . 

.06 

.40 

.032 

.054 

.69 

N 
W 

42020 
45150 

61370 
65780 

25.00 
8.50 

46.89 
24.78 

.06 

.45 

.032 

.054 

.69 

N 
W 

40740 
46720 

60730 
58540 

26.25 
6.00 

46.72 
19.48 

.  .  . 

.06 

.35 

.032 

.054 

M 

N 
W 

42680 
43350 

60780 
48740 

28.75 
1.25 

47.23 
20.20 

.  .  . 

Basic 
O.  H. 

soft. 

2x%-inch  flats; 
scarf  weld. 

.08 

.17 

.008 

.016 

.10 

N 
W 

80300 
81690 

45070 
43290 

89.00 
11.25 

69.70 
42.16 

.  .  . 

.11 

.32 

.011 

.029 

.08 

N 
W 

83600 

60190 
45900 

83.75 
8.50 

58.48 
34.11 

.11 

.32 

.006 

.018 

.11 

N 
W 

83780 
82120 

49580 
45280 

83.00 
10.00 

56.92 
22.18 

*  :  * 

.09 

.29 

.005 

.021 

.10 

W 

w 

36390 
87400 

60050 
45280 

83.00 
7.50 

69.82 
41.08 

.  .  . 

Basic 
O.  H. 

soft. 

l-o 

f! 
f 

.12 

.36 

.005 

.022 

.08 

N 
W 

34580 
80640 

51080 
41600 

28.50 
7.50 

48.63 
26.34 

.  .  . 

.13 

.39 

.005 

.025 

.10 

N 
W 

85470 

60770 
87000 

83.75 
7.50 

61.50 
29.88 

.12 

.29 

.005 

.016 

.10 

N 
W 

86830 
83300 

51300 
43530 

81.25 
7.00 

52.62 
29.31 

.12 

.51 

.005 

.021 

.09 

N 
W 

37650 
35200 

54770 
48280 

26.25 
7.00 

41.94 
21.74 

.  .  . 

"Wrought- 
iron. 

•§§•. 

3TJ2 

*3S 

<K« 

N 
W 
W 
W 

w 
w 

83390 
82950 
84060 
82700 
82040 
32760 

60080 
89320 
40620 
45140 
44730 
88430 

28.50 
6.00 
6.25 
11.75 
11.00 
4.00 

27.26 
15.52 
22.26 
20.98 
19.25 
9.36 

'.  '.  ! 

406 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


The  figures  on  the  iron  bars  show  that  the  situation  is  no  better 
than  with  steel,  for  the  welded  bars  are  far  inferior  to  the  natural 
piece  both  in  strength  and  ductility.  These  experiments  are  cor- 
roborated by  Table  XIX-B,  which  gives  a  series  of  tests  made  by 
the  Royal  Prussian  Testing  Institute.*  The  average  strength  of  the 

TABLE  XIX-B. 
Welding  Tests  by  the  Royal  Prussian  Testing  Institute. 


Kind  of  metal. 

Ult.  strength; 
pounds  per 
square  inch. 

Per  cent,  elonga- 
tion in  200  m.  m. 
=7.87,  inches. 

Per  cent,  reduc- 
tion of  area. 

Av.  6  tests, 
natural. 

Av.  9  tests, 
welded. 

Av.  6  tests, 
natural. 

Av.  9  tests, 
welded. 

Av.  6  tests, 
natural. 

Av.  9  tests, 
welded. 

Medium  O.  H.  steel    .... 
Soft  O.  H.  steel  

72110 
64570 
57890 

41820 
45800 
47080 

20.8 
25.1 
22.2 

8.2 
5.1 

7.7 

84.9 
44.7 
89.5 

4.5 
10.5 
14.0 

Puddled  iron  

welded  bars  of  medium  steel  was  58  per  cent,  of  the  natural,  the 
poorest  bar  showing  only  23  per  cent.  In  the  softer  steel  the  aver- 
age was  71  per  cent,  and  the  poorest  33  per  cent,,  while  in  the  pud- 
dled iron  the  average  was  81  per  cent,  and  the  poorest  62  per  cent. 
Complete  destruction  of  ductility  is  shown  in  the  case  of  all  three 
metals. 

As  above  stated,  the  flat  bars  in  Table  XIX-A  were  such  as  had 
been  used  successfully  in  making  pipe  which  would  stand  all 
ordinary  tests  of  distortion,  while  the  soft  basic  metal  would  meet 
the  most  severe  tests.  Such  metal  is  used  regularly  where  the 
best  welding  qualities  are  required,  and  the  users  are  convinced  that 
"the  weld  is  perfect."  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  a  weld  as  per- 
formed by  ordinary  blacksmiths,  whether  on  iron  or  steel,  is  not 
nearly  as  good  as  the  rest  of  the  bar;  and  it  is  still  more  certain 
that  welds  of  large  rods  of  common  forging  steel  are  unreliable  and 
should  not  be  employed  in  structural  work.  Electric  methods  do 
not  offer  a  solution  of  the  problem,  for  the  metal  is  heated  beyond 
the  critical  temperature  of  crystallization,  and  only  by  heavy  reduc- 
tions under  the  hammer  or  press  can  much  be  done  toward  restoring 
the  ductility  of  the  piece.  In  many  cases  this  subsequent  hammer- 
ing is  impracticable.  , 

*  Journal  I.  and  S.  I., Vol.  1, 1883,  p.  425,  et  seq. 


WELDING.  407 

SEC.  XIXc. — Influence  of  the  metalloids  upon  welding. — The 
way  in  which  the  impurities  of  the  metal  affect  the  welding  power 
has  been  a  matter  of  discussion,  it  having  even  been  supposed  that 
they  act  simply  by  interposition,  and,  again,  that  they  increase  the 
susceptibility  of  the  iron  to  oxidation.  I  believe  both  of  these 
theories  are  wrong.  If  the  first  were  true,  then  one  per  cent,  of 
carbon  would  have  the  same  effect  as  one  per  cent,  of  sulphur, 
which  is  manifestly  not  the  case.  The  second  theory  does  not  hold, 
since  sulphur,  notoriously  one  of  the  worst  enemies  of  welding,  is 
not  oxidized  either  in  the  acid  Bessemer  or  open-hearth  furnace, 
and  there  is  no  ground  for  assuming  that  it  oxidizes  in  welding. 
As  phosphorus,  carbon  and  manganese  protect  iron  from  burning  in 
the  Bessemer  and  open-hearth,  so  they  must  also  tend  to  be  prefer- 
entially oxidized  in  a  blacksmith's  fire,  and  thus  by  preventing  the 
formation  of  iron  oxide,  as  well  as  by  the  formation  of  a  liquid 
flux  containing  phosphoric  acid  and  oxide  of  manganese,  they 
should,  as  far  as  oxidation  is  concerned,  assist  rather  than  retard 
the  welding. 

A  third  theory  is  that  the  impurities  affect  the  mobility.  When 
half  of  one  per  cent,  of  carbon  is  added  to  the  metal,  it  produces  a 
compactness  or  hardness,  even  when  the  steel  is  hot,  that  must 
prevent  the  easy  flowing  together  that  follows  a  pressure  upon 
two  pieces  of  white-hot  wrought-iron  or  soft  steel.  A  higher  tem- 
perature cannot  be  used,  because  every  increase  in  carbon  reduces 
the  safe  working  temperature  at  the  same  time  that  it  increases  the 
stiffness. 

This  decrease  in  mobility  doubtless  plays  an  important  part  in 
the  explanation,  but  I  believe  a  greater  influence  is  to  be  found  in 
what  may  seem  at  first  sight  to  be  the  same  thing,  but  which  is  a 
different  quality,  viz. :  The  power,  or  property,  of  passing  through 
a  viscous  state  on  the  road  to  liquidity.  Other  metals,  lead  and 
copper  for  instance,  are  malleable  and  ductile,  but  do  not  go  through 
a  history  of  slow  softening  under  the  application  of  heat,  the  change 
to  a  liquid  state  being  sudden  and  without  any  marked  interme- 
diate stage.  Pig-iron  is  of  the  same  character,  for  no  matter  how 
low  the  other  metalloids  may  be,  the  presence  of  three  per  cent,  of 
carbon  produces  a  metal  which  changes  suddenly  from  a  solid  to  a 
liquid  state,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  each  increment  of 
carbon,  phosphorus  and  manganese  tends  in  the  same  direction. 


408  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

In  addition  to  this  effect,  I  believe  an  equally  important  factor 
exists  in  the  action  of  carbon,  phosphorus,  sulphur  and  copper  in 
destroying  the  cohesion  by  increasing  the  tendency  to  crystallization, 
for  these  metalloids  lower  the  point  at  which  the  steel  becomes  what 
is  incorrectly,  but  quite  naturally,  called  "burned."  When  steel 
is  overheated  it  crumbles  under  the  hammer,  and  it  cannot  be  easily 
united  to  another  piece  when  it  is  incapable  of  remaining  united  to 
itself.  This  theory  also  explains  what  seems  to  be  a  fact,  that  a 
small  proportion  of  manganese  aids  in  welding,  for  although  it 
does  decrease  the  mobility  at  any  particular  temperature,  it  allows 
a  higher  heat  to  be  put  upon  the  metal  without  destructive  crystalli- 
zation, and  thus  indirectly  renders  possible  a  greater  mobility  and 
maintains  a  more  favorable  molecular  structure. 

The  following  conclusions  seem  to  fit  the  theory  and  the  facts : 

(1)  With  the  exception  of  manganese  in  small  proportion,  the 
usual  impurities  in  steel  reduce  its  welding  power  by  lowering  the 
critical  temperature  at  which  it  becomes  coarsely  crystalline. 

(2)  A  small  content  of  manganese  aids  welding  by  preventing 
crystallization. 

(3)  Only  the  purest  and  softest  steel  can  be  welded  with  any 
reasonable  assurance  of  success. 

(4)  The  confidence  of  a  smith  in  his  own  powers  and  in  the 
perfection  of  the  weld  is  no  guarantee  that  the  bar  is  fit  to  use. 


CHAPTEE  XX. 

STEEL  CASTINGS. 

SECTION  XXa. — Definition  of  a  steel  casting. — A  steel  casting 
must  be  made  of  steel  cast  in  a  fluid  state  into  the  desired  shape. 
It  has  been  the  practice  of  some  persons  to  make  castings  from 
pig-iron  and  steel  melted  in  a  cupola,  although  every  metallurgist 
knows  that  the  metal  is  altered  very  much  by  remelting,  and  that 
the  changes  in  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon  depend  on  all  the 
uncertain  factors  of  temperature  and  exposure.  In  melting  pig-iron, 
the  carbon  usually  changes  very  little,  for  the  content  of  this  metal- 
loid was  adjusted  in  the  blast  furnace  to  about  the  absorptive  ca- 
pacity corresponding  to  the  manganese  and  silicon,  and  as  the 
conditions  in  the  cupola  are  similar  to  those  in  the  blast  furnace,  it 
follows  that  a  metal  which  is  the  normal  product  of  one  will  not  be 
fundamentally  altered  by  passing  through  the  other. 

But  a  mixture  of  steel  and  iron  is  not  a  normal  product  of  any 
furnace,  and  in  the  cupola  there  is  a  tendency  to  make  radical 
changes  in  the  composition  by  absorption  of  carbon.  Thus,  by 
the  unnatural  union  of  pig  and  scrap,  and  by  uncertain  changes 
in  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon,  there  is  produced  a  hybrid  metal 
which  is  useful  for  special  purposes,  but  which  is  fundamentally 
different  from  any  kind  of  steel.  It  is  true  that  scrap  and  iron 
are  melted  together  to  make  open-hearth  steel,  but  this  is  done 
under  an  oxidizing  flame  and,  either  during  the  melting  or  after- 
ward, the  metalloids  are  almost  entirely  eliminated,  giving  a  defi- 
nite starting  point  from  which  a  known  and  regular  metal  can  be 
made  by  the  addition  of  recarburizers. 

Sometimes  castings  of  cupola  metal,  made  either  with  or  without 
scrap,  are  heated  in  contact  with  iron  oxide  in  order  to  burn  the 
contained  metalloids.  The  product  is  a  more  or  less  tough  metal, 
known  as  malleable  iron,  which  is  extensively  employed  in  making 
small,  thin,  or  complicated  shapes  that  could  scarcely  be  poured  in 


410  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

steel,  but  which  can  be  made  of  the  more  liquid  iron.  The  attempt 
has  been  made  to  call  these  "steel/'  and  the  claim  has  been  fortified 
by  analyses  showing  that  the  composition  resembles  that  of  some 
steel.  On  the  same  basis,  the  product  of  the  puddle  furnace  or  the 
charcoal  bloomery  might  be  termed  mild  steel.  Malleable  iron 
must  always  be  inferior  to  steel,  because  any  oxides  of  silicon,  man- 
ganese, phosphorus  or  iron  which  are  formed  remain  diffused 
throughout  the  mass.  Such  castings  are  useful  in  a  certain  field, 
for  they  are  far  tougher  than  cast-iron,  and  they  may  even  enter 
into  competition  with  steel  castings,  but  they  must  always  bear  a 
different  name,  since  steel  castings  must  be  made  by  pouring  into 
finished  shape  the  melted  product  of  a  crucible,  a  Bessemer  con- 
verter, or  an  open-hearth  furnace. 

SEC.  XXb. — Methods  of  manufacture. — The  crucible  process  is 
sometimes  employed  for  small  castings,  since  the  conditions  of  the 
"dead-melt"  give  a  more  quiet  metal,  evolving  less  gas  in  contact 
with  cold  surfaces,  and  the  casting  is  more  apt  to  be  free  from 
blow-holes.  In  special  cases,  as  in  the  manufacture  of  big  guns  at 
Krupp's,  the  crucible  has  been  used  in  making  large  masses  of 
metal,  but  its  great  cost  prohibits  its  adoption  for  general  struc- 
tural work. 

Casting  plants  have  been  erected  with  Bessemer  converters  in- 
stead of  open-hearth  furnaces.  These  converters  are  small  and  the 
blast  is  introduced  either  on  the  side,  just  below  the  surface  of  the 
metal,  or  is  directed  down  on  the  top  of  the  liquid  bath.  For  each 
system  important  benefits  are  claimed,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  Bessemer  in  his  early  experiments  tried  almost  every  way  that 
could  be  thought  of  and  abandoned  them  all  for  the  one  in  general 
use  today.  Side  blowing  creates  a  greater  amount  of  heat  owing 
to  the  more  perfect  oxidation  of  carbon,  and  to  the  burning  of  a 
proportion  of  iron.  In  the  ordinary  converter  much  carbonic  oxide 
(CO)  escapes,  but  when  the  blast  is  introduced  near  the  surface,  and 
particularly  when  an  auxiliary  tuyere  delivers  air  at  a  little  dis- 
tance above  the  bath,  much  of  this  carbonic  oxide  is  burned  to  car- 
bonic acid  (C02). 

In  many  "small"  Bessemer  plants  the  loss  of  metal  is  about  20 
per  cent,  and  in  one  case  30  per  cent.  This  greater  waste  is  partly 
in  the  cupola  and  partly  in  the  vessels.  The  cupolas  of  a  standard 
Bessemer  plant  are  operated  continuously  for  about  three  days,  and 


STEEL  CASTINGS. 


411 


the  iron  lost  from  absorption  by  the  lining  or  in  dumping  the  bot- 
tom is  small  in  proportion  to  the  amount  treated.  In  an  iron 
foundry  or  a  small  Bessemer  plant,  the  cupola  works  only  a  short 
time,  and  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  iron  is  absorbed  by  the 
lining,  while  another  large  percentage  is  lost  in  scrap.  In  a  stand- 
ard Bessemer  cupola  the  loss  in  metallic  iron  is  only  one-half  of 
one  per  cent.,  while  in  intermittent  cupola  work  it  will  be  far  above 
this  figure. 

In  the  standard  converter  with  low-silicon  pig-iron,  the  total 
loss  is  about  8  per  cent,  of  which  only  3  per  cent,  is  metallic  iron, 
about  one-half  of  this  (1.8  per  cent.)  being  carried  away  as  oxide 
in  the  slag  and  the  remainder  lost  in  shot  and  splashes.  In  the 
small  converter  it  is  necessary  to  use  much  higher  silicon,  and  this 
gives  a  higher  loss.  A  rough  estimate  of  the  waste  under  the  two 
different  methods  is  given -herewith. 


LOSS  IX  BESSEMER  PRACTICE. 


Per  cent,  of  metal. 

Standard 
practice  ; 
bottom  blast. 

Small 
vessels  ; 
side  blast. 

Cupolas  : 
Vessels  : 

Metalloids  

1.5 
0.5 
5.0 
1.8 

1.2 

2.0 
3.0 
7.0 
4.0 
4.0 

Iron. 

Metalloids  

Slag  (as  oxide)  
Shot  and  splashes.  .  . 

Total 

10.0 

20.0 

The  increased  loss  will  cost  about  $2  per  ton,  but  this  is  less 
than  it  would  cost  for  fuel  in  a  small  open-hearth  furnace  running 
intermittently,  to  say  nothing  of  the  waste  that  will  take  place  in 
open-hearth  work.  Small  converters  will  give  a  very  hot  steel, 
although  sometimes  it  is  found  necessary  to  add  ferro-silicon  at  the 
end  of  the  operation  and  continue  blowing  in  order  to  get  a  higher 
temperature. 

The  disadvantages  of  the  small  converters  are  indicated  by  the 
slow  progress  in  their  introduction  and  the  discontinuance  of  oper- 
ation in  plants  already  built.  The  Clapp- Griffiths  process  once 


412  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

caused  considerable  stir,  and  yet  in  1903  there  was  not  a  single 
converter  of  this  type  at  work  in  America,.  Of  the  Roberts-Bessemer 
plants  only  two  were  active  in  that  year.  There  were  eight  Tro- 
penas  plants  at  work,  one  Bookwalter  converter  and  two  vessels  of 
special  design.  All  these  plants  were  making  steel  castings.  The 
open-hearth  furnace  is  the  recognized  agent  for  the  making  of  steel 
castings.  It  allows  control  both  of  the  composition  of  the  metal 
and  of  the  casting  conditions.  Most  furnaces  used  for  castings 
have  an  acid  lining,  but  sometimes  the  hearth  is  basic.  In  the 
latter  case  there  are  more  troubles  and  a  somewhat  greater  working 
cost,  but  there  is  an  advantage  in  the  ability  to  use  a  poorer  quality 
of  scrap.  Basic  metal  is  more  lively,  and  there  is  greater  danger  of 
honeycombs,  but  such  metal  is  used  to  some  extent  in  this  country 
and  quite,  extensively  abroad,  and  it  is  economy  to  use  the  basic 
process  when  high-phosphorus  scrap  can  be  bought  much  cheaper 
than  the  selected  stock  called  for  by  the  acid  hearth.  It  is  cur- 
rently supposed  that  the  open-hearth  furnace  cannot  make  steel 
hot  enough  for  small  castings.  This  is  a  mistake,  as  in  a  proper 
furnace  almost  any  desired  temperature  can  be  reached,  and  care 
must  be  taken  to  keep  the  metal  from  becoming  too  hot. 

SEC.  XXc. — Blow-holes. — The  use  of  good  stock  determines  to  a 
great  extent  the  nature  of  the  product,  but  does  not  influence  the 
solidity  of  the  castings.  This  depends  partly  on  the  temperature 
and  composition  of  slag  and  metal  before  tapping,  and  partly  on 
the  quantity  and  nature  of  the  recarburizing  additions.  An  in- 
crease in  these  latter  agents  covers  up  errors  in  manipulation,  but 
shows  itself  in  a  higher  content  of  metalloids.  Honeycombed  metal 
may  arise  from  bad  casting  conditions  or  from  a  laudable  desire 
to  reduce  the  proportions  of  silicon  and  manganese,  for  the  blow- 
holes decrease  only  slightly  the  strength  and  toughness  of  a  casting, 
while  the  complete  removal  of  them  by  overdoses  of  metalloids  gives 
a  brittle  metal. 

It  is  the  current  impression  that  all  the  difficulties  in  making 
sound  castings  have  been  overcome  by  the  introduction  of  metallic 
aluminum  and  certain  alloys  of  silicon.  Great  progress  has  been 
made,  but  there  is  no  magic  wand  for  sale  which  can  be  waved  over 
a  ladleful  of  steel  to  "kill"  it  "dead."  Hadfield*  says:  "There  is 
no  rapid  or  royal  road  to  the  production  of  sound  steel  castings ;  this 

*  Aluminum  Steel.    Journal  I.  and  S.  7.,  Vol.  II,  1890,  p.  174. 


STEEL  CASTINGS.  413 

is  only  attained  by  long  experience  combined  with  specialized 
knowledge." 

Some  engineers  specify  that  the  cavities  shall  not  exceed  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  total  area,  but  the  common-sense  method  is  to 
clothe  the  inspector  with  discretionary  power,  for  a  flaw  may  be 
harmless  on  the  under  surface  of  a  base-plate  when  it  would  be 
fatal  in  the  rim  of  a  wheel.  It  should  be  noted  that  there  is  a 
radical  difference  between  a  ''blow-hole"  and  a  "pipe/'  The  cavities 
often  seen  where  the  "sink-head,"  or  "riser,"  is  cut  off  are  not  evi- 
dence of  unsoundness,  but  exactly  the  opposite,  for  they  show  that 
feeding  continued  after  the  riser  was  exhausted,  and  that  the  in- 
terior has  been  rendered  solid  at  the  expense  of  the  surface. 

SEC.  XXd. — Phosphorus  and  sulphur  in  steel  castings. — In  speci- 
fications for  steel  castings,  the  important  point  is  to  state  that  phos- 
phorus shall  not  exceed  .04  per  cent.  Other  elements  may  be 
guarded  against  by  requiring  a  proper  ductility,  but  phosphorus  is 
often  masked  by  other  factors,  and  manifests  itself  only  in  that 
brittleness  under  shock  which  is  its  inherent  characteristic.  This 
is  an  important  matter  in  the  case  of  rolled  metal,  but  is  of  more 
vital  moment  in  steel  castings,  for  these  generally  fail  by  sudden 
strain  and  shock. 

The  content  of  sulphur  is  of  little  importance,  for  it  affects  the 
cold  properties  very  slightly,  but  it  will  do  no  harm  to  specify  that 
it  shall  not  be  over  .05  per  cent.,  good  castings  generally  containing 
less  than  this  proportion.  Copper  need  not  be  mentioned,  for  there 
is  no  evidence  that  it  has  any  influence  upon  the  finished  casting. 

SEC.  XXe. — Effect  of  silicon,  manganese  and  aluminum. — The 
elements  used  to  procure  solidity  are  silicon,  manganese  and  alumi- 
num. Their  value  to  the  steelmaker  is  due  in  great  measure  to  their 
power  of  uniting  with  oxygen,  the  action  being  as  follows : 

3.44  parts  manganese  unite  with  1.00  part  of  oxygen. 
3.44  parts  aluminum  unite  with  3.01  parts  of  oxygen. 
3.44  parts  silicon  unite  with  3.93  parts  of  oxygen. 

Hence  the  aluminum  is  three  times,  and  the  silicon  four  times, 
as  efficient  as  manganese,  weight  for  weight,  while  they  have  an 
additional  value  from  their  greater  affinity  for  oxygen,  since  this 
enables  them  to  seize  the  last  traces  from  the  iron  and  wash  the 
bath  so  much  the  cleaner. 


414  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

Another  function  which  may  play  a  part  in  the  operation  is  the 
increase  in  capacity  to  dissolve  or  occlude  gases,  and  as  far  as  the 
value  of  the  casting  is  concerned  this  will  be  equivalent  to  destroy- 
ing them.  It  is  not  known  how  far  this  determines  the  situation, 
but  it  is  evident  that  it  has  no  connection  with  the  power  to  unite 
with  oxygen.  It  was  once  thought  that  aluminum  increased  the 
fluidity  of  steel  by  lowering  the  point  of  fusion,  but  experiments 
with  a  Le  Chatelier  pyrometer*  gave  the  same  melting  point  of 
1475°  C.  for  ordinary  soft  steel  as  for  an  alloy  with  five  per  cent, 
of  aluminum.  The  tendency  of  both  aluminum  and  silicon  is  to 
make  the  steel  sluggish ;  such  metal  will  run  through  small  passages 
without  chilling  better  than  ordinary  steel,  as  the  latter  foams  and 
froths  when  in  contact  with  cold  surfaces,  and  the  flow  is  thereby 
impeded  and  sufficient  surface  exposed  to  chill  the  advance  guard 
of  the  stream. 

The  percentage  of  manganese  should  not  exceed  .70  in  soft  cast- 
ings nor  .80  in  harder  steels,  since  more  than  this  may  fender  the 
metal  liable  to  crack  under  shock.  Silicon  can  be  present  up  to 
.10  per  cent,  in  the  mild  steels  and  .35  per  cent,  in  the  hard  without 
any  diminution  in  toughness.  Aluminum  is  seldom  present  except 
in  traces,  and  should  not  be  over  .20  per  cent.,  for  it  decreases  the 
ductility.  The  carbon  must  vary  according  to  the  desired  tensile 
strength  and  the  use  to  which  the  casting  is  to  be  put;  when  over  .70 
per  cent,  the  steel  becomes  so  hard  that  machining  is  slow,  and  there 
is  danger  of  lines  of  weakness  from  shrinkage  in  complicated  shapes. 

SEC.  XXf. — Physical  tests  on  soft  steel  castings. — Since  the  fail- 
ure of  cast-work  is  almost  always  due  to  sudden  strain,  it  is  the 
safer  plan  to  have  the  metal  for  common  purposes  between  .30  and 
.50  per  cent,  in  carbon,  but  when  great  toughness  is  required  it 
should  not  be  over  .15  per  cent.  This  latter  specification  also  pre- 
supposes a  low  content  of  manganese,  silicon,  and,  above  all,  of 
phosphorus ;  with  this  composition  the  casting  displays  all  the  char- 
acteristics usually  associated  with  the  toughest  of  rolled  shapes.  A 
test  on  an  unannealed  gear-wheel  of  such  metal,  manufactured  by 
The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Co.,  was  made  by  cutting  the  rim  between 
the  spokes  and  then  bending  one  arm  to  a  right  angle,  twisting 
another  through  more  than  180°  without  sign  of  fracture,  while  a 

*  See  article  on  Pyrome.tric  Data,  by  H.  M.  Howe,  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal, 
October  11,  1890,  p.  426. 


STEEL  CASTINGS.  415 

third  was  hot-forged  from  a  star-shaped  section  of  about  2  inches 
by  1£  inches  into  a  bar  1J  inches  by  three-eighths  inch,  and  after 
being  cooled  was  twisted  into  a  closed  corkscrew.  Similar  pieces 
were  exhibited  by  Krupp  in  his  magnificent  exhibit  at  Chicago,  but 
we  stand  ready  in  America  to  duplicate  any  such  metal  on  regular 
contracts. 

Such  trials,  made  on  castings  taken  at  random,  are  preferable  to 
tensile  tests  from  sample  bars,  since  the  small  pieces  will  not  be  in 
the  same  physical  condition  as  the  larger  castings.  A  flaw  or  blow- 
hole in  the  small  test  does  not  imply  that  the  casting  contains  simi- 
lar imperfections,  and  while  an  open  cavity  which  is  visible  on  the 
surface  of  a  machined  test  will  have  a  disastrous  effect  upon  the 
strength  and  ductility,  it  might  be  of  slight  importance  if  buried 
in  the  interior.  This  necessity  of  having  a  perfect  surface  makes 
it  difficult  to  conduct  a  series  of  tests  with  the  same  dimension  of 
test-pieces,  for  if  five-eighths  inch  in  diameter  is  the  desired  size, 
it  may  be  necessary  to  turn  some  of  the  pieces  to  one-half  inch, 
while  the  length  must  sometimes  be  reduced  to  6  or  4  inches.  It  is 
also  an  argument  against  an  8-inch  test  piece,  for  the  chance  of 
pinholes  and  a  consequent  bad  record  is  thereby  multiplied  four- 
fold. 

This  test  piece  should  not  be  annealed  unless  the  castings  them- 
selves are  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner,  and  although  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  anneal  most  structural  work,  it  is  not  necessary  in  many 
cases  if  the  best  of  stock  is  used.  This  will  be  called  heretical  by 
many  engineers,  but  the  tests  just  recorded  upon  an  unannealed 
gear-wheel  will  show  that  the  metal  can  be  exceptionally  tough  in 
its  original  state.  In  castings  of  complicated  shape  and  exposed  to 
shock,  annealing  should  be  specified,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  there  is  no  magic  charm  in  this  word.  It  is  not  sufficient  to 
say  that  they  shall  be  annealed  and  make  sure  only  that  they 
are  covered  with  soot  or  fresh  oxide.  The  heat  treatment  of  steel  is 
a  scientific  procedure,  by  which  the  metal  is  raised  to  an  accurately 
determined  critical  temperature,  whereby  certain  molecular  rear- 
rangements occur.  If  these  rearrangements  are  properly  guided,  the 
result  will  be  a  fine-grained  structure  and  a  tough  metal.  If  not 
properly  guided  the  last  condition  may  be  as  bad  as  the  first. 

Up  to  within  a  few  years  most  steel  castings  were  made  of  hard 
metal  containing  from  .30  to  .50  per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  having  a 


416 


METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 


tensile  strength  of  80,000  to  100,000  pounds  per  square  inch,  but 
as  engineers  have  learned  that  the  strongest  bridge  is  not  built  of 
steel  with  .30  per  cent,  of  carbon,  so  they  must  learn  that  it  would 
be  better  to  use  a  softer  metal  in  castings. 

TABLE  XX-A. 

Bars  from  Annealed  Soft  Castings  and  Unannealed  Bars  Rolled 
from  6-Inch  Ingots,  together  with  Bars  from  Large  Ingots. 

Steel  manufactured  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 


,d 

-co* 

j 

i! 

Is-g 

"*  O>  O 

~«§ 

S-i 

O 

0 

Composition;  percent. 

®  «r* 

jj  ft5 

$  «3  °Z  . 

fl.j 

O  d 

a 
a 

iii 

ifl 

fPl"| 

•in  M 

!LJ   ® 

0  0 

1 

si°< 

|ll 

G  d  o  o 

II 

tt 

C. 

P. 

Mn. 

S. 

p  * 

3°~' 

P3 

8552 

.17 

.027 

.65 

.034 

58190 

84290 

24.00 

82.1 

8555 

.17 

.027 

.66 

.056 

56030 

32440 

14.90 

19.7 

8557 

.17 

.032 

.60 

.029 

55880 

82750 

27.13 

42.3 

8559 

.17 

.027 

.65 

.038 

55350 

30350 

23.10 

42.5 

8563 

.17 

.024 

.62 

.024 

59390 

34790 

20.10 

84.5 

8565 

.23 

.029 

.65 

.025 

60060 

33130 

20.65 

26.8 

8568 

.14 

.029 

.70 

.032 

58320 

81750 

17.25 

20.8 

8571 

.18 

.033 

.58 

.028 

56700 

80670 

26.88 

46.7 

8573 

.17 

.028 

.67 

.027 

57440 

81430 

21.66 

86.7 

8573 

.17 

.036 

.70 

.027 

58860 

34260 

22.04 

29.8 

8577 

.17 

.037 

.59 

.029 

57980 

38220 

23.00 

89.3 

8578 

.17 

.045 

.67 

.026 

68810 

83510 

22.16 

80.4 

8579 

.15 

.037 

.63 

.028 

64940 

82190 

22.75 

47.0 

8580 

.18 

.038 

.71 

.017 

58970 

84180 

22.25 

86.7 

8582 

.17 

.036 

.63 

.024 

66380 

81520 

18.00 

25.5 

8583 

.18 

.032 

.61 

.022 

59400 

85330 

14.13 

18.8 

8584 

.18 

.027 

.60 

.027 

55970 

29690 

22.38 

82.1 

8586 

.17 

.027 

.60 

.027 

55630 

30300 

18.50 

31.4 

8588 

.16 

.043 

.63 

.031 

56950 

32530 

26.50 

42.7 

8592 

.  .18 

.027 

.69 

.028 

59050 

82940 

20.00 

83.0 

Average  of 

.  annealed 

.17 

.032 

.64 

.029 

57515 

82564 

21.12 

83.44 

cast  bars. 

2x^j-inch    bars    rolled    from   6-inch    square 
Ingots  cast  from  the  same  heats  and  tested  in 

63523 

42700 

24.74 

43.80 

natural  state 

Average  of  2x%-inch  bars  rolled 

from  4-inch  billets  made  from  16- 

Natural 

62089 

42441 

80.14 

60.86 

Inch  ingots  of  7  different  heats  of 
about  the  same  tensile  strength 

Annealed 

65021 

81576 

80.86 

60.00 

as  the  above  castings 

Table  XX-A  gives  the  results  of  tests  made  on  sample  bars  of 
cast  steel,  showing  the  composition  and  physical  qualities.  The  sili- 
con is  not  given,  but  it  was  below  .05  per  cent,  in  every  case.  The 
test  piece  was  cut  from  a  small  coupon  and  this  will  explain  why 
it  was  often  necessary  to  pull  the  piece  in  a  six-inch  length.  The 


STEEL  CASTINGS. 


417 


test  was  round  in  every  case,  and  gave  slightly  worse  results  than  a 
flat,  but  this  is  far  from  explaining  the  great  inferiority  of  the  cast- 
ing when  compared  with  the  preliminary  test,  or  the  more  marked 
difference  from  what  should  be  expected  in  rolled  steel  of  similar 
tensile  strength. 

TABLE  XX-B. 
Annealed  Bars  from  Castings  of  Medium  Hard  Steel. 

Manufactured  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 


t| 

1 

«J 

d 

! 

k 

I 

Composition;  percent. 

U 

1! 

|| 

o 

o"d 

| 

j3 

*M"^ 

*""lfd 

d 

5  fl  ri 

•2  fl  rl 

Kri  rt 

O    - 

2  £ 

1 

2l§ 

i|§ 

II 

|| 

W 

C. 

Mn. 

P. 

S. 

81. 

6 

i 

H 

05 

8 

60580 

83710 

80^0 

88^7 

65.6 

60680 

82380 

86^0 

61.90 

53.4 

921 

.20 

JB| 

.026 

.022 

.30 

60830 

32750 

86.00 

44.34 

63.8 

61480 

80740 

82.00 

89.80 

60.0 

62420 

82460 

88.00 

60.90 

62.0 

63320 

87400 

86.00 

46.33 

69.1 

64880 

34170 

24.50 

28^7 

62.7 

968 

.22 

.56 

.035 

.034 

.30 

65500 
65845 

44850 
83595 

29.00 
26.00 

89.40 
82.40 

68.5 
61.0 

65930 

82290 

80.00 

83.87 

49.0 

67010 

48680 

26.00 

82.40 

72.6 

974 

.38 

.75 

.029 

.028 

.35 

72630 
75240 

44940 
45880 

16.00 
23.00 

20.70 
81.63 

61.9 
61.0 

73090 

45390 

17.50 

21^6 

62.1 

966 

J0 

.68 

.038 

.034 

.34 

75160 

45510 

29.50 

27.64 

60.6 

The  results  show  what  has  been  mentioned  before — that  the  ulti- 
mate strength  and  elastic  limit  are  altered  very  little  by  the  amount 
of  work  as  long  as  the  piece  is  not  finished  at  a  low  temperature. 
In  the  annealed  casting  the  elastic  limit  is  56.62  per  cent,  of  the 
ultimate  strength,  while  in  the  annealed  bars  rolled  from  the  ingot 
it  is  57.39  per  cent.  This  approximation  is  remarkable  because  the 
factors  relating  to  ductility  show  that  the  physical  state  of  the  two 
metals  must  be  radically  different. 

SEC.  XXg. — Medium  hard  steel  castings. — It  has  been  shown 
that  the  average  elastic  ratio  in  annealed  castings  is  about  the  same 
as  in  annealed  rolled  bars,  but  there  will  be  greater  variations  be- 
tween individual  tests  in  the  case  of  the  unworked  metal  owing  to 
local  imperfections,  and  there  will  be  greater  variations  with  a 
stronger  steel.  This  will  be  shown  by  Table  XX-B,  which  gives  the 
results  on  duplicate  bars  from  four  different  heats  of  harder  metal. 


418  METALLURGY  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL. 

The  ultimate  strength  is  regular,  and  this  indicates  that  the  metal 
is  homogeneous,  but  minute  imperfections  give  rise  to  the  variations 
in  the  elongation,  reduction  of  area,  and  elastic  ratio.  In  the  body 
of  a  casting  these  defects  exert  little  influence,  but  they  affect  the 
integrity  of  a  small  machined  piece.  The  safest  way,  whenever 
practicable,  would  be  to  make  a  drop  test  on  a  sample  casting 
rather  than  to  cut  a  small  bar  from  the  piece  or  from  a  separate 
coupon. 


PART  III. 
The  Iron  Industry  of  the  Leading  Nations, 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

FACTORS  IN  INDUSTRIAL  COMPETITION. 

NOTE.— In  1899  I  visited  the  large  steel  works  of  England,  Germany,  Belgium  and 
Austria,  and  was  received  with  unvarying  hospitality.  I  trust  that  nothing  here  written 
will  be  more  than  fair  criticisms  of  my  hosts. 

SECTION  XXIa. — The  question  of  management. — It  is  com- 
mon in  America  to  smile  over  the  non-progressiveness  of 
our  foreign  friends,  and  many  people  believe  we  are  especially 
commissioned  by  Providence  to  illuminate  the  world  with  our  spare 
energy.  We  must  consider,  however,  that  there  is  a  vital  difference 
between  metallurgy  abroad  and  metallurgy  here.  The  direct  man- 
agement of  a  works  in  America  has  in  the  past  had  practically  its 
own  way,  for  the  directors  looked  upon  improvements  as  inevitable. 
As  for  the  stockholders,  they  are  not  supposed  to  inquire  into  de- 
tails. In  England  they  rise  at  the  annual  meeting  and  ask  ques- 
tions as  to  the  money  spent  on  new  work  and  the  returns  derived 
therefrom,  and  if  American  managers  were  subject  to  this  inqui- 
sition they  might  live  a  less  forceful  life.  In  England,  improve- 
ments are  not  made  from  profits,  but  new  capital  is  authorized  when 
deemed  necessary.  There  are  exceptions  to  this  system,  but  it  is 
the  usual  custom.  An  instance  is  the  case  of  an  English  works  in 
South  Russia,  having  a  capital  of  $6,000,000.  During  a  period  of 
eleven  years  annual  dividends  were  declared,  ranging  from  15  to 
125  per  cent.  In  1900,  20  per  cent,  or  $1,200,000,  was  distributed, 
but  as  it  was  necessary  to  extend  certain  railway  lines,  bonds  were 
issued  for  $750,000,  or  about  one-half  the  dividend. 

An  English  manager  contends  against  strong  labor  unions.  There 
was  a  time  when  such  organizations  regulated  affairs  in  many 
American  works,  but  it  was  found  necessary  to  suppress  them.  In 
1899  I  found  some  new  construction  work  going  on  in  Middles- 
borough.  The  contractors  stated  that  the  boiler  makers  worked 
only  three  days  each  week,  earning  seven  dollars  per  day,  and  then 

421 


4:22  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

began  a  four-day  drunken  carouse.  In  a  short  walk  in  that  city 
I  found  a  dozen  men  drunk  upon  the  sidewalk.  The  labor  unions 
will  not  allow  any  reform  in  the  matter,  as  a  man  has  a  God-given 
right  to  get  drunk.  Much  of  this  sentiment  has  been  brought  to 
America  by  the  English  and  Welsh,  but  they  have  never  controlled 
any  extensive  area  in  our  country. 

In  England  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  management  of  an  en- 
terprise to  descend  from  father  to  son,  and  this  must  retard  the 
advancement  of  progressive  young  men.  There  is  also  an  opposi- 
tion to  change,  a  magnifying  of  every  tradition  into  a  law  of 
nature,  and  a  disinclination  to  be  different  from  others.  All  these 
things  tend  to  retard  industrial  progress. 

In  other  directions  America  is  behind.  The  retort  coke  oven  is 
an  instance,  although  it  may  be  said  that  its  introduction  on  the 
Continent  was  a  necessity,  as  poor  coals  would  not  give  a  good  coke 
in  the  beehive.  Another  case  is  the  use  of  blast-furnace  gas  in  gas 
engines,  a  field  in  which  Germany  is  ten  years  ahead  of  America. 
The  unfired  soaking  pit  is  in  universal  use  abroad,  but  has  been  a 
failure  in  at  least  four  works  in  America.  It  is  found  that  acid 
steel  does  not  work  as  well  as  basic  metal  in  these  pits,  and,  more- 
over, the  rail  steel  of  America  is  higher  in  carbon  than  that  which 
is  used  for  rails  in  Europe,  and  it  is  known  that  unfired  pits  do 
not  work  well  with  metal  high  in  carbon.  Nevertheless,  the  fact 
remains  that  the  pits  are  in  successful  operation  abroad,  and  are 
not  used  in  America  even  on  soft  basic  steel. 

Every  country  has  developed  along  its  own  lines.  England  has 
faced  a  lessening  ore  supply,  decreasing  both  in  quantity  and  qual- 
ity and  increasing  in  price.  Germany  has  been  driven  to  the  basic 
vessel  and  has  made  it  a  success.  In  rolling  mills  our  friends  across 
the  ocean  have  clung  to  the  two-high  reversing  mill,  sacrificing  the 
possibilities  of  expansion  in  output  that  pertain  to  a  three-high 
train.  This  capacity  for  expansion  is  the  line  between  European 
and  American  practice.  Taking  railroads  as  an  illustration,  the 
lines  that  spread  over  the  western  half  of  our  domain  have  been 
built  within  the  memory  of  young  men.  The  style  of  rail  has  al- 
ways been  fairly  uniform,  and  in  late  years  concerted  action  by 
manufacturers  and  engineers  has  resulted  in  one  set  of  standard 
sections.  In  England,  such  standardizing  seems  impossible.  One 
road  is  only  two  hundred  miles  long,  and  yet  is  laid  with  half  tee 


FACTORS   IN   INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  423 

rails  and  half  bullheads,  so  that  each  order  for  replaceals  is  half 
what  it  should  be.  The  item  of  roll  changes  for  small  lots  of  ma- 
terial is  very  important  to  the  manufacturer,  and  the  railroad  must 
pay  the  bill  in  the  long  run.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Eng- 
land cannot  extend  her  domain,  and  it  would  be  of  doubtful  ex- 
pediency to  build  a  counterpart  of  one  of  our  American  mills,  which 
could  alone  make  all  the  rails  now  produced  in  Great  Britain.  The 
two-high  mill  is  better  for  small  products  and  numerous  roll 
changes,  and  has,  therefore,  been  retained  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent. 

TABLE  XXI-A. 
Miles  of  Railway  in  Operation  in  1902. 

United  States 1  207,807 

Germany I  33,798 

Franc*  ...                      j-  66  per  cent,  of  the  total.  JjjJJJ 

Austria-Hungary |  24,106 

Great  Britain  and  Ireland]  22,448 

Canada 19,062 

Italy 9,960 

Spain 8,601 

Sweden 7,692 

Belgi  urn 4,234 

Europe  except  above 14,563 

Asia 46,293 

Other  parts  of  the  world 73,936 


Total 533,65 

This  matter  of  small  orders  will  be  better  understood  by  com- 
parison of  the  mileage  of  railroads  in  the  different  countries,  as 
shown  in  Table  XXI-A.  The  United  States  has  40  per  cent,  of  all 
the  railroads  in  the  world,  Germany  next  with  less  than  7  per  cent., 
and  if  we  omit  those  nations  that  make  their  own  rails  and  take 
all  the  rest  of  the  world,  including  Canada,  the  total  "markets  of 
the  world"  do  not  include  as  many  miles  of  track  as  are  laid  within 
our  borders.  Thus  if  we  can  assume  that  Germany,  which  ranks 
next  to  the  United  States  in  length  of  track,  should  monopolize 
the  rail  trade  of  the  world  with  the  exception  of  the  United  States, 
Eussia,  France,  Austria,  Great  Britain  and  Belgium,  each  of  which 
is  self-supporting,  she  would  not  have  as  much  tributary  track  as 
stretches  out  before  the  doors  of  American  steel  works.  These 
reasons  have  influenced  the  development  of  rolling  mills  all  over 


424  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

Europe,  and  the  newest  plants  have  not  copied  America,  but  have 
enlarged  and  expanded  the  old  two-high  construction. 

In  making  structural  material  and  railway  splices,  it  is  the  cus- 
tom in  America  to  cut  the  ingot  into  several  blooms  or  billets  and 
reheat  for  finishing,  this  being  done  in  order  that  the  bloom  or 
billet  mill  shall  run  at  its  maximum  capacity.  In  Europe  little 
thought  is  given  to  this  argument.  The  question  everywhere  heard 
is  this:  "What  could  we  do  with  all  the  steel  if  we  should  run 
continuously?"  It  is  therefore  more  common  abroad  to  roll  many 
different  sections  in  one  reversing  mill,  the  stuff  being  finished  in 
one  heat  from  the  ingot,  the  finished  bar  being  very  long;  in  one 
mill  a  2-in.  square  billet  is  finished  475  ft.  long  and  a  3  in.  x  3  in. 
angle  425  ft.  Oftentimes  the  finishing  is  done  on  a  different  mill, 
and  frequently  the  finishing  mill  is  three-high,  the  blooms  being  cut 
up  and  transferred  without  reheating. 

The  Germans  use  many  three-high  trains  for  finishing,  and  15- 
inch  beams  are  rolled  directly  from  the  ingot  without  cropping 
the  ends  and  without  reheating,  the  work  being  done  by  hooks  and 
tongs  without  any  machinery  except  a  steam  cylinder  to  raise  the 
swinging  support  of  the  hooks  used  to  catch  the  piece.  Such  a  lift- 
ing motion  is  necessary  when  the  rolls  are  30  inches  in  diameter 
and  the  mill  runs  110  to  120  revolutions.  I  have  seen  a  mill  of  this 
size  and  speed  handling  8-inch  blooms  weighing  about  1200  pounds, 
and  few  American  workmen  would  care  to  work  as  fast  and  as  hard 
as  these  hookers,  although  American  workmen  would  have  smiled 
at  the  idea  of  a  man  being  able  to  do  anything  when  wearing 
wooden  shoes.  In  rolling  beams  by  hand  in  a  train  of  that  size 
an  army  of  men  is  required,  and  the  average  visitor  can  hardly  un- 
derstand why  some  simple  labor-saving  devices  are  not  introduced. 
It  is  related  of  an  American  at  a  German  works  that  he  offered 
to  spend  a  certain  reasonable  sum  in  machinery  and  save  so  many 
dollars  every  month.  The  manager  answered  by  showing  him  the 
cost  sheets  and  proved  that  the  total  expenses  for  labor  in  the  mill 
did  not  equal  what  he  proposed  to  save.  Such  an  answer  cannot 
be  true  of  all  places  where  labor  is  thrown  away.  In  one  of  the 
famous  steel  works  of  the  world  are  two  blooming  mills,  three-high, 
and  exactly  alike,  turning  out  a  combined  product  of  ten  thousand 
tons  per  month.  In  America  one  such  mill  would  take  care  of 
from  forty  to  sixty  thousand  tons  per  month  and  two  men  on  each 


FACTORS   IN   INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  425 

turn  would  operate  it,  while  in  this  place  it  took  fourteen  men  on 
each  mill.  The  fundamental  difference  was  that  the  table  rollers 
were  not  driven,  and  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  the  introduction 
of  machinery  to  drive  those  rollers  would  have  paid  back  the  money 
every  three  months. 

At  this  place  plans  were  drawn  for  an  entirely  new  works,  which 
involved  immense  expenditure  of  money,  and  it  seemed  the  accepted 
law  that  an  old  plant  should  not  be  improved  when  a  new  one  was 
contemplated.  The  reasons  are  self-evident,  but  in  America  such 
improvements  do  go  on  under  exactly  those  conditions,  because  with 
high-priced  labor  and  unlimited  demand  for  steel  it  is  often  easy 
to  pay  for  new  apparatus  in  a  year,  while  in  Germany,  with  cheap 
labor  and  a  smaller  product,  it  would  take  a  much  longer  time.  At 
another  works  there  were  four  mills  under  one  roof,  the  building 
being  large  enough  for  handling  and  shipping  the  product  of  all  the 
mills.  The  total  output  of  these  four  mills  was  about  400  tons 
each  twenty-four  hours.  In  America  the  same  outlay  would  pro- 
duce from  five  to  ten  times  that  amount. 

This  condition,  however,  is  not  universal.  It  is  impossible  to 
obtain  the  same  output  from  a  basic  converter  as  from  an  acid 
lined  vessel,  as  the  addition  of  the  basic  materials,  the  greater 
amount  of  oxidation  to  accomplish,  and  the  much  greater  wear  of 
the  linings  render  it  out  of  the  question.  Nevertheless  there  are 
several  German  works,  like  Rothe  Erde,  Phoenix,  Hoesch  and 
Hoerde,  which  make  from  32,000  to  35,000  tons  of  steel  per 
month  from  three  basic  converters  ranging  from  11  to  18  tons 
capacity. 

The  diversity  of  product  in  a  German  mill  arises  oftentimes 
from  the  control  by  syndicates  of  all  the  items  of  production,  but 
it  would  seem  difficult  to  get  a  mill  up  to  its  maximum  effi- 
ciency with  workmen  who  wear  wooden  shoes.  It  would  be 
good  business  to  pay  for  a  leather  outfit  simply  for  the  moral 
effect. 

Some  American  writers  and  metallurgists  ascribe  the  forward- 
ness of  steel  manufacture  in  America  to  the  ingenuity  and  bril- 
liancy of  a  little  group  of  men  who  lived  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 
It  is  an  unkind  act  to  disparage  our  predecessors,  but  I  am  actuated 
not  by  any  personal  feeling  in  expressing  the  opinion  that  no  one 
man  should  be  lifted  upon  a  pedestal  of  fame  unless  the  foundation 


426  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

stones  bear  the  names  of  many  others  almost  if  not  quite  equal  to 
him  in  worthiness.  It  was  the  custom  twenty  years  ago,  as  it  is 
today,  to  pick  out  as  an  idol  one  who  could  deliver  a  witty  after- 
dinner  speech.  Nothing  is  easier  than  to  join  a  mutual  admiration 
society  and  gradually  have  every  member  become  in  his  own  esti- 
mation more  and  more  indispensable  to  the  daily  routine  of  the 
universe.  American  metallurgy  has  been  developed  by  many  minds, 
and  these  minds  were  not  creators,  but  creatures ;  they  were  carried 
forward  in  the  flood  of  "push,"  which  is  the  predominant  feature 
of  our  countrymen. 

No  spirit  of  rivalry  has  ever  entered  into  European  steel  works. 
It  is  beyond  question  that  many  of  the  great  advances  that  America 
has  made  have  been  due  to  vainglory  and  a  simple  desire  to  "beat 
all  creation."  Another  factor  was  the  desire  to  increase  outputs 
when  the  margin  of  profits  justified  the  most  lavish  expenditure, 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  in  every  case  it  was  foreseen  that  these  outlays 
would  result  in  such  a  decrease  in  the  operating  cost  per  ton.  In 
foreign  countries  this  argument  of  beating  a  competitor  has  no 
place.  In  one  of  the  old  works  in  Germany  there  are  blast  furnaces 
only  48  feet  high,  but  as  they  show  a  fuel  consumption  of  1800 
pounds  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron,  the  management  sees  no  justification 
for  starting  on  new  construction.  In  our  country  we  might  keep  such 
furnaces,  but  we  would  apologize  for  them ;  in  Germany  this  senti- 
ment is  entirely  unknown.  Perhaps  a  little  of  the  foreign  spirit 
would  be  as  valuable  an  acquisition  for  the  American  as  a  little 
American  spirit  is  valuable  for  the  European. 

Each  land  has  much  to  give  to  the  other.  Perhaps  we  can  teach 
them  how  to  work,  but  they  can  teach  us  how  to  save  up  just  a 
little  of  our  surplus  energy  and  use  it  in  enjoying  the  fruits  of 
labor. 

SEC.  XXIb. — The  question  of  employer  and  employed. — This  is 
usually  called  the  "labor  question,"  and  is  spoken  of  in  the  same 
way  that  the  consumption  of  fuel  would  be  discussed,  but  although 
it  may  be  convenient  to  treat  it  thus  in  books,  it  cannot  be  so 
handled  in  actual  life.  There  are  three  distinct  methods  of  arrang- 
ing relations  between  the  employer  and  the  employed.  The  first  is 
the  paternal  system,  where  the  employer  does  everything  for  the 
workmen,  as  at  Pullman  in  our  own  country,  and  at  Creusot  in 
France.  This  is  probably  the  worst  thing  possible  and  breeds  a 


FACTORS   IN   INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  427 

servile  lot  of  men,  whose  highest  thought  is  expecting  the  next 
spoonful  of  gruel.  It  is  soup-house  charity  when  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  philanthropy. 

The  second  method  treats  men  as  men.  The  self-respecting  man 
does  not  ask  charity;  he  wishes  to  pay  one  dollar  for  one  dollar's 
worth  of  goods.  This  self-respecting  man  should  be  the  one  for 
whom  all  rules  are  made.  He  is  a  free  agent,  able  to  make  his  own 
contracts,  to  work  or  to  leave,  and  as  a  rule  he  generally  has  a  job 
and  is  too  busy  to  make  speeches  on  the  labor  question  or  kindred 
topics. 

The  third  system  is  the  labor  organization  where  men  bind  them- 
selves together  and  appoint  a  committee  to  get  all  they  can  for 
"labor."  These  unions  declare  that  every  man  is  the  equal  of  every 
other  man — when  he  is  not;  that  a  fast  workman  shall  not  be  al- 
lowed to  do  any  more  work  than  a  slow  workman — which  would 
seem  to  be  an  attempt  to  upset  the  decree  of  Providence;  that  a 
good  workman  shall  not  receive  more  than  a  lazy  dummy — which 
is  absurd;  that  labor-saving  devices  shall  not  be  introduced  unless 
the  money  saved  is  distributed  among  the  workmen ;  and,  worst  of 
all,  that  dealings  with  the  men  shall  be  done  through  certain  inter- 
mediary officers,  when  it  is  notorious  that  in  some  cases  the  men 
chosen  to  such  office  have  gained  power  by  cajolery,  bribery  and  the 
lowest  methods  of  ward  politicians. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  same  class  of  men  achieve 
political  success  under  our  system  of  popular  sovereignty,  and  it 
would  certainly  be  unwise  to  change  our  government  to  prevent  the 
election  of  demagogues  to  office;  but  no  demagogue  nor  Board  of 
Aldermen  is  given  authority  over  the  freedom  of  the  individual  nor 
over  great  industries.  The  Czar  of  Eussia  might  hesitate  to  order 
one  hundred  thousand  men  out  of  employment,  and  expose  to  mob 
rule  great  establishments  and  ruin  the  trade  of  a  million  people. 
Only  one  power  in  any  civilized  land  has  such  authority,  and  this  is 
a  committee  chosen  by  a  small  fraction  of  the  community  and  often 
by  a  minority  of  the  interested  parties.  It  is  of  record  that  the 
disastrous  decisions  of  such  committees  have  often  been  condemned 
by  the  greater  bodies  of  which  they  form  a  part,  although  such 
condemnation  generally  does  about  as  much  good  as  an  apology  for 
hanging  the  wrong  man. 

These  faults  are  recognized  by  the  labor  unions  themselves,  and 


428  THTC  TK.ON  INDUSTRY. 


many  well-meaning  persons  advocate  "compulsory  arbitration"  as 
the  panacea  for  all  ills  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  a  manufac- 
turer can  be  forced  to  take  orders  and  to  operate  his  mill  if  he 
chooses  to  shut  down.  To  compel  him  to  do  so  would  be  condemna- 
tion of  property,  and  the  slightest  consideration  of  fairness  would 
lead  the  state  or  the  community  to  make  good  any  loss  he  might 
sustain  by  the  continuance  of  operations.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
is  impossible  to  see  how  a  workman  can  be  compelled  to  work  at 
any  wage  which  is  not  satisfactory  to  him,  when  perhaps  he  is 
offered  more  elsewhere,  and  no  manufacturer  would  ask  for  such 
an  unconstitutional  infringement  upon  the  personal  rights  of  his 
workmen.  Moreover,  the  labor  unions  themselves,  while  anxious 
for  a  law  to  compel  employers  to  abide  by  an  award,  recognize  the 
injustice  and  the  impossibility  of  forcing  a  workman  to  labor  for 
less  than  he  considers  his  due.  It  would  therefore  seem  that  the 
best  way  is  the  simplest:  it  is  to  let  each  man  exercise  the  rights 
given  him  by  our  laws  of  working  for  the  highest  wage  he  can  get, 
and  of  leaving  when  he  is  not  treated  rightly. 

Under  the  system  of  labor  unions  the  men  who  perform  some  par- 
ticular line  of  work  may  often  be  entirely  unrepresented  on  the 
committee.  The  works  with  which  I  am  connected  has  in  opera- 
tion seven  rolling  mills  and  each  one  is  different,  both  in  amount 
and  character  of  product.  In  some  of  these  mills  there  are  over 
thirty  different  kinds  of  positions  where  the  men  are  paid  by  the 
piece  or  ton,  not  counting  the  work  done  by  the  day  or  hour,  and 
each  of  these  positions  has  a  special  rate.  Under  any  system  of  com- 
mittees the  great  majority  of  positions  will  have  no  representative, 
and  there  will  always  be  an  incentive  on  the  part  of  a  committeeman 
to  look  after  his  own  job  and  his  own  friends,  while  the  manage- 
ment of  the  works  will  be  only  too  glad  to  give  such  a  committeeman 
anything  he  may  ask  if  he  will  agree  to  a  low  rate  for  those  not 
present  at  the  conference.  A  few  years  of  such  work  will  generally 
bring  on  a  strike,  and  well-meaning  humanitarians  will  then  ad- 
vocate "arbitration/'  by  which  is  meant  a  reference  to  some  men 
who  do  not  know  a  pair  of  tongs  from  a  straightening  press,  and 
who  will  recommend  that  the  difference  be  split,  the  question  of  dis- 
proportionate rates  being  left  as  it  was.  To  what  extent  this  dis- 
proportion can  obtain  has  been  shown  by  sworn  testimony  before  a 
Congressional  committee,  where  it  was  proved  that  men  who  joined 


FACTORS   IN    INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  429 

the  disastrous  strike  at  Homestead  drew  thirty  thousand  dollars  a 
year. 

It  might  be  of  advantage  to  pay  still  higher  bribes  to  the  leaders  of 
the  workmen,  since  such  wages  for  rollers  cannot  be  called  earnings, 
if  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  there  is  a  limit  to  what  the  members 
of  a  union  will  stand,  for  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  that  the 
action  of  the  committee  is  not  final.  The  signature  of  the  company 
bears  with  it  the  highest  responsibility,  but  the  signature  of  the 
committee  is  worthless.  It  may  or  may  not  be  agreed  to  by  the 
union,  but  whether  it  is  or  is  not,  the  decision  does  not  carry  with 
it  the  slightest  financial  responsibility.  It  does  not  bind  and  cannot 
bind  any  individual  to  work  for  the  company  a  day  longer  than 
he  chooses,  and  if  the  industrial  situation  brightens  and  men  find 
more  remunerative  employments  it  is  the  privilege  of  each  and 
every  man  to  leave,  and  if  they  choose  to  go  out  on  a  sympathetic 
strike  there  is  no  redress  for  a  violated  contract. 

I  do  not  believe  in  such  inequitable  arrangements,  nor  do  I 
believe  in  arbitration  on  many  of  the  questions  arising,  or  in  a  sys- 
tem of  committees  so  organized.  I  believe  that  each  man  who 
thinks  himself  ill  treated  should  have  access  to  the  office  of  the 
manager.  It  is  the  right  of  appeal  to  a  higher  court,  and  it  is  the 
rare  exception  that  a  body  of  men  appear  to  discuss  a  question  un- 
less there  is  some  ground  for  their  action.  Investigation  generally 
shows  that  their  statements  are  correct,  and  while  the  workmen  are 
trying  to  get  all  that  they  can,  and  while  the  manager  is  trying  to 
give  as  little  as  he  may,  the  level-headed  men  generally  lead  in  the 
argument,  a  fair  and  equitable  arrangement  can  be  made,  and  no 
man  feels  that  he  is  outwitted  by  a  committeeman.  He  has  stated 
his  case ;  he  has  heard  the  reply ;  he  remains  a  free  citizen  to  accept 
the  offer  or  to  decline  it,  and  no  works  can  long  operate  if  the  offer 
is  not  just  and  right. 

There  may  be  cases  where  different  conditions  govern  and  where 
large  bodies  of  skilled  men  of  one  trade  may  join  for  mutual  pro- 
tection; but  in  a  steel  works  where  hardly  any  two  positions  are 
alike,  either  in  nature  of  work  or  in  rate  of  pay,  the  labor  organiza- 
tion as  at  present  constituted  has  no  place.  Moreover,  under  no 
condition  will  it  ever  be  more  than  an  unworthy  and  petty  factor 
in  the  universal  labor  problem  until  it  gives  up  once  and  for  all  the- 
tenet  it  now  holds  to  be  fundamental,  that  a  limit  of  production 


430  THE  IKON  INDUSTRY. 

should  be  set  for  each  man.  If  labor  unions  will  drop  this  primal 
error,  reason  may  find  a  basis  for  discussion,  while  with  this  dictum 
as  a  premise  there  can  be  no  reconcilement  with  the  spirit  of  prog- 
ress. They  must  also  drop  the  tyrannical  theorem  that  non-union 
men  may  not  work  with  union  men,  and  the  anarchistic  conception 
that  non-union  men  must  not  deliver  goods  to  union  shops.  Many 
modern  strikes  are  based  on  these  ideas,  and  arbitration  is  utterly 
out  of  the  question  since  the  answer  is  either  yes  or  no.  Any 
board  of  arbitrators,  by  the  mere  act  of  considering  such  claims, 
thereby  acknowledge  that  they  have  a  standing  in  equity,  when  a 
moment's  consideration  will  show  that  they  subvert  the  principles 
of  our  government.  Almost  all  of  the  large  steel  plants  of  America 
manage  their  own  affairs.  The  result  is  that  the  introduction  of 
labor-saving  devices  creates  no  trouble,  the  more  so  because  such 
devices,  while  they  decrease  the  number  of  men,  demand  a  higher 
grade  of  workmen,  so  that  it  often  happens  that  the  man  who 
operates  the  new  machine  will  earn  a  higher  rate  of  wages  than 
any  man  made  before  at  the  same  kind  of  work.  Another  reason 
why  labor-saving  machines  are  not  entirely  contrary  to  the  interests 
of  the  skilled  workman  lies  in  a  fact  which  seems  to  be  unknown  to 
the  average  social  economist.  In  the  manufacture  of  steel,  there 
is  much  hard  and  heavy  work.  Formerly,  when  the  work  was  done 
by  hand,  a  skilled  man  was  one  who  was  superior  physically,  and  as 
soon  as  he  reached  middle  life  he  was  obliged  to  accept  some  less 
arduous  and  less  remunerative  employment.  With  the  introduc- 
tion of  machinery  the  skilled  employee  may  often  retain  his  posi- 
tion during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  the  ability  to  keep  an  old 
and  trusted  employee  in  a  position  where  his  experience  is  of  value 
to  himself  and  to  his  employer  is  not  merely  a  question  of  senti- 
ment ;  it  is  an  advantage  as  great  to  the  employer  as  to  the  workman. 
The  argument  in  favor  of  labor  unions  may  be  stated  thus : 

(1)  Capital  is  allowed  to  organize; 

(2)  Labor  must  have  the  same  rights  as  capital; 

(3)  Labor  must  be  allowed  to  organize. 

It  is  impossible  to  dissent  from  the  premises,  or  to  escape  from 
the  conclusion ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  define  the  terms.  It  is  essen- 
tial to  know  just  what  is  meant  by  "organize/'  Capital  organizes 
into  corporations,  but  the  rights  and  privileges  of  these  bodies  are 
regulated  by  law.  They  may  not  overstep  whatever  regulations 


FACTORS  IN  INDUSTRIAL  COMPETITION.          431 

may  be  made,  and  the  people  can  make  or  change  these  rules.  In 
only  one  case  in  America  can  a  corporation  interfere  in  any  way 
with  the  private  rights,  property  or  freedom  of  the  individual. 
That  exception  is  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  and  the  conditions 
under  which  this  right  may  be  exercised  give  to  every  injured  party 
more  than  sufficient  compensation  for  the  trespass.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  an  infringement  of  a  personal  right,  and  for  this  reason  such 
corporations  have  always  been  regarded  as  subject  to  legislative 
control.  This  control  has  not  been  entirely  theoretical,  for  some 
socialistic  Western  States  have  enacted  laws  that  have  brought  ruin 
to  all  the  capital  invested. 

Taking  into  consideration  simply  manufacturing  corporations  as 
the  only  ones  pertinent  to  our  inquiry,  in  no  particular  do  their 
corporate  rights  allow  any  trespass  upon  the  rights  of  individuals. 
They  may  use  their  money  to  injure  men  or  communities,  but  so 
may  any  private  person.  Any  multi-millionaire  might  buy  a  fac- 
tory and  shut  it  down  and  ruin  a  village,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see 
what  could  be  done  about  it.  He  might  discharge  all  his  old  and 
trusted  servants  and  the  law  could  hardly  touch  him.  He  might 
commit  all  the  sins  charged  against  corporations  and  there  would 
be  no  redress.  It  is  wrong  to  condemn  corporate  laws  for  allow- 
ing acts  which  a  private  individual  may  legally  do,  and  it  is  certain 
that  manufacturing  corporations  have  been  given  no  rights  of 
eminent  domain,  no  privilege  to  infringe  upon  the  private  estate  of 
the  citizen.  They  have  the  power  to  issue  bonds,  to  issue  stock,  to 
conduct  business  under  a  perpetual  name,  and  in  return  have  cer- 
tain duties,  certain  taxes  to  pay,  certain  regulations  under  which 
they  must  conduct  their  business  and  protect  the  interests  of  the 
minority.  This  is  the  extent  of  their  powers  as  granted  by  the  State. 
All  other  powers  are  inherent  as  vested  in  general  constitutional  pre- 
rogatives. 

This,  then,  is  the  definition  of  "organize,"  and  the  right  of  men, 
whether  so-called  "laborers"  or  not,  to  so  unite  has  never  been 
questioned.  They  may  form  organizations  for  pleasure,  for  im- 
provement or  for  business;  but  it  is  another  matter  when  they 
"organize"  to  restrict  personal  liberty.  That  a  band  of  men  may 
agree  among  themselves  not  to  work  more  than  a  certain  number  of 
hours  per  day  is  as  certain  as  that  they  may  agree  not  to  smoke,  or 
not  to  eat  meat.  Their  right  to  do  so  is  unquestionable.  It  is  their 


432  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

privilege  to  agree  that  they  will  only  handle  two  shovelfuls  of  earth 
per  hour,  or  one  shovelful  per  day.  It  is  their  right  to  refuse  to 
work  for  less  than  five  dollars  per  day  or  twice  that  amount.  It  is 
their  right  to  ask  their  employer  to  sign  a  scale  and  agreement  to 
that  effect  for  one  year  or  ten  years,  but  it  is  also  the  right  of  the 
employer  to  ask  what  guarantee  is  given  that  they  will  stay  in  his 
employ,  and  it  is  also  his  inalienable  right  to  tell  them  that  such 
agreements  are  not  according  to  his  wish  and  that  he  will  try  and 
get  men  who  will  work  without  them;  and  if  such  "organization" 
should  reach  the  last  stage  and  the  "organizers"  should  demand  that 
no  one  should  work  in  the  shop  except  those  subscribing  to  the 
union  and  paying  the  salaries  of  the  officers,  the  only  possible 
answer  is  that  such  a  rule  is  contrary  to  the  fundamental  tenets  on 
which  this  government  rests. 

Certain  matters  cannot  be  arbitrated.  Thus  it  is  of  record  that  a 
certain  "union"  works  in  America  was  shut  down  several  times,  not 
on  account  of  any  disagreement  between  employer  and  employee,  but 
on  account  of  disputes  between  two  rival  labor  unions.  It  is  quite 
comprehensible  why  under  such  conditions  a  manufacturer  might 
conclude  to  employ  only  non-union  men.  His  right  to  do  so  is  as 
unquestionable  as  the  right  of  a  farmer  to  employ  only  colored  labor- 
ers or  to  employ  only  white  men,  or  to  employ  both.  Granting  that 
the  manufacturer  has  concluded  to  run  non-union,  it  is  impossible 
to  submit  the  matter  to  arbitration.  If  his  conclusion  is  unwise,  he 
will  suffer  most,  for  if  men  will  not  work  for  him  then  he  will  lose 
money,  and  if  he  can  get  only  the  scum  of  the  streets  then  also  will 
he  lose;  but  if  he  can  obtain  good  men  in  sufficient  numbers,  then 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  conditions  are  acceptable  to  them  and  to 
him  and  that  his  position  is  just  and  equitable. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  how  a  decision  to  employ  only  non- 
union men  can  be  susceptible  to  arbitration,  and  it  would  seem 
•unnecessary  to  more  than  state  the  theorem  were  it  not  that  poli- 
ticians and  certain  lecturers  at  Chautauqua  are  advocating  com- 
pulsory arbitration.  It  must  always  be  remembered  that  no  em- 
ployer ever  entertained  a  prejudice  against  a  labor  union  on  general 
grounds  alone.  The  opposition  arose  from  the  plain  fact  that  labor 
unions  regularly  develop  into  the  most  tyrannical  and  outrageous 
violators  of  individual  rights.  It  has  happened  many  times  that  a 
hundred  -union  men  have  left  a  shop  because  one  non-union  man 


FACTORS    IN    INDUSTRIAL    COMPETITION.  433 

was  at  work.  Is  it  possible  that  any  employer  with  a  grain  of 
self-respect,  or  any  intelligent  person,  will  say  that  such  a  matter 
is  open  to  arbitration  ?  Our  common  law  recognizes  prosecution  and 
imprisonment,  but  it  recognizes  the  arbitration  of  crime  as  the  com- 
pounding of  a  felony  and  calls  this  a  crime  in  itself. 

The  proposition  has  been  made  by  a  President  of  the  United 
States  that  employers  should  not  discriminate  against  union  men, 
but  that  union  men  on  the  other  hand  should  not  interfere  with 
non-union  men  working  beside  them.  This  is  a  most  excellent 
solution  from  an  academic  standpoint,  but  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
where  such  an  arrangement  is  attempted  it  is  overthrown  by  the 
union  element,  and  in  places  where  the  troubles  have  developed 
into  riot  and  murder  we  have  yet  to  hear  of  any  assistance  given 
by  labor  leaders  to  the  legal  authorities  to  punish  the  instigators 
of  crime. 

Labor  organizations  are  a  form  of  socialism.  In  the  same  cate- 
gory stand  the  paternal  laws  of  Germany  and  the  less  radical  meas- 
ures proposed  or  enacted  in  our  own  land.  This  fact  does  not  neces- 
sarily brand  them  as  wrong,  for  socialism  may  contain  elements  of 
right  and  justice.  I  do  not  make  the  senseless  generalization  that, 
since  trades  unions  are  socialistic  and  socialism  wrong,  there- 
fore the  unions  are  wrong ;  but  if  socialism  is  right,  it  is  right  for 
all;  there  must  be  no  classes  in  America.  There  is  no  stone  wall 
between  the  humblest  laborer  in  a  steel  works  and  the  manager. 
The  pathway  is  wide  open  from  the  workshop  to  the  sanctum  of  the 
administrative  head.  The  rule  that  applies  to  one  must  apply  to 
the  other.  If  eight  hours  is  the  maximum  time  for  the  laborer, 
then  the  same  law  must  govern  the  manager.  If  the  humblest  work- 
man must  not  work  except  within  certain  hours,  then  the  manager 
must  not  think  except  during  the  same  interval.  The  mechanic 
must  not  go  home  and  think  how  a  job  can  be  done  better,  the 
superintendent  must  not  improve  the  plant,  nor  make  more  steel 
today  than  yesterday.  Moreover,  if  no  man  is  to  do  work  except 
at  his  own  trade,  then  no  man  must  work  in  his  own  garden,  raise 
his  own  flowers,  or  mend  a  broken  fence.  Such  is  the  inevitable 
logic  of  the  labor  union. 

The  labor  leaders  will  hardly  wish  to  say  that  there  are  classes 
and  castes  in  America,  and  if  there  are  no  classes  then  the  same 
rules  should  govern  all;  and  if  these  rules  are  to  be  made  for  all, 


434  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

then  they  must  be  laws,  made  by  the  regular  law-making  bodies; 
made  by  the  people  through  their  chosen  representatives.  This 
has  been  done  in  New  Zealand;  it  may  be  well  to  await  the 
result. 

In  this  great  experiment  success  will  not  be  measured  solely  by 
freedom  from  strikes,  for  the  industrial  pea.ce  compelled  by  arbitra- 
tion is  not  necessarily  the  best  thing,  any  more  than  political  and 
social  peace  compelled  by  the  superior  force  of  an  autocratic  mon- 
archy betokens  the  highest  triumph  of  government.  The  excite- 
ment of  a  political  campaign  in  America  is  more  desirable  and  more 
truly  an  exponent  of  a  healthy  condition  than  the  sullen  passivity 
with  which  servile  subjects  might  view  a  change  of  masters.  The 
current  views  of  many  political  leaders  in  interfering  with  indus- 
trial freedom  resemble  the  medieval  notion  that  a  decree  of  the  king 
could  fix  the  price  of  wheat,  prohibit  the  export  of  gold,  or  exalt 
the  value  of  a  debased  currency.  Success  or  failure  cannot  be  de- 
termined by  immediate  effect;  some  people  imagine  that  when  the 
arbitration  laws  of  New  Zealand  have  prevented  a  strike  by  the  easy 
method  of  splitting  the  difference,  a  great  triumph  has  been  won. 
They  forget  that  this  is  a  backward  step ;  that  it  is  abandoning  the 
business  method  of  fixing  a  price,  and  substituting  the  ancient  Jew 
practice  of  asking  twice  as  much  as  is  expected  in  order  that  an  in- 
termediate price  may  be  secured.  If  the  public  supposes  that  the 
truth  is  a  compromise  between  extreme  demands,  it  is  easy  to  keep 
business  in  a  ferment  by  asking  for  an  advance. 

It  will  take  a  generation  for  New  Zealand  to  discover  the  result 
of  her  innovations,  but  even  at  this  early  day  the  situation  is  not 
entirely  happy.  The  employers  in  three  provinces  have  come  out 
strongly  against  the  present  system  of  compulsory  arbitration,  while 
the  labor  union  of  one  of  these  provinces  is  up  in  arms  at  the  un- 
expected phenomenon  of  an  award  against  the  workmen,  and  the 
Labor  Council  is  asking  "why  should  we  obey  an  adverse  award, 
when  no  jail  is  large  enough  to  hold  us  all  ?"  Not  until  the  regu- 
lations made  in  this  distant  island  have  had  time  to  produce  their 
proper  fruit,  not  until  New  Zealand  becomes  thickly  settled  and 
possessed  of  the  complex  industrial  life  existing  in  those  countries 
which  are  factors  in  the  business  of  the  world,  not  until  the  new 
schemes  of  labor  regulation  have  proven  their  efficacy  under  inter- 
national competition,  can  the  laws  of  this  much-discussed  country 


FACTORS   IN    INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  435 

become  more  than  an  interesting  experiment  to  be  watched  rather 
than  to  be  copied. 

SEC.  XXIc. — The  question  of  tariffs. — In  the  minds  of  many  of 
my  readers  this  discussion  will  not  be  complete  if  I  do  not  record  my 
belief  that  the  present  condition  of  the  American  iron  manufacture 
is  solely  due  to  the  operation  of  the  high  protection  system.  Let 
me  say,  therefore,  that  some  men  in  the  iron  trade  do  not  believe 
that  the  entire  business  of  this  country  is  represented  by  a  tariff 
measure,  just  as  on  the  other  hand  there  are  men  not  connected  with 
the  iron  business  at  all  who  fail  to  appreciate  that  the  tariff  is  rob- 
bing them  of  their  last  cent.  During  the  period  that  high  tariffs 
have  been  in  force  our  iron  industry  has  expanded  to  most  won- 
derful proportions,  but  that  such  expansion  is  due  to  the  tariff  is 
not  a  necessary  conclusion.  That  such  expansion  has  from  time 
to  time  been  interrupted  by  periods  of  panic  and  disaster  is  un- 
questioned, but  it  is  rash  to  say  that  such  disasters  are  the  inevi- 
table results  of  protective  tariffs. 

It  is  true  that  American  manufacturers  have  sometimes  sold  a 
|)art  of  their  products  to  foreign  customers  at  a  lower  price  than 
the  ruling  market  quotations  at  home,  and  this  fact  is  immediately 
grasped  and  spread  broadcast  by  petty  politicians  and  by  so-called 
economists,  who  seem  always  to  be  climbing  out  on  the  scale  beam 
in  one  direction  as  far  as  they  can  go  to  balance  the  equally  erratic 
high  tariff  promoters  who  are  climbing  the  other  way.  Nothing 
can  so  quite  keep  in  countenance  the  fallacies  of  fanatics  as  counter 
fallacies  gravely  argued.  Nothing  could  more  please  the  advocates 
of  free  trade  than  to  see  protectionists  trying  to  prove  that  iron  ore 
is  not  raw  material.  My  mind  is  not  broad  enough  to  grasp  all  the 
complex  conditions  that  surround  the  industrial  progress  of 
America,  and  I  cannot  see  as  clearly  as  some  men  that  no  steel 
would  ever  have  been  made  here  had  it  not  been  for  certain  divinely 
inspired  orators  in  Congress;  neither  can  I  see  as  clearly  as  others 
that  the  nation  would  have  been  richer  and  greater  had  no  duty 
ever  been  imposed  on  foreign  manufacturers.  It  is  possible  that  the 
reason  why  I  cannot  see  so  clearly  is  that  my  information  is  gained 
at  first  hand,  and  is  not  made  up  of  partisan  statements.  An  able 
and  honest  President  of  the  United  States  publicly  announced  that 
a  tariff  was  a  tax,  and  that  the  price  of  an  article  here  was  the 
price  abroad  plus  the  tariff.  If  the  statement  concerning  the  price 


436  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

had  been  true,,  then  undoubtedly  the  tariff  would  have  been  a  tax, 
but,  unfortunately  for  the  reputation  of  the  said  President,  the 
statement  was  not  true,  as  he  might  easily  have  found  and  should 
have  found  by  the  most  casual  inspection  of  the  regular  trade 
papers.  In  the  case  of  steel  rails,  for  example,  the  price  in  the 
United  States  is  not  equal  to  the  foreign  price  plus  the  tariff,  and 
has  not  been  for  fifteen  years,  while  there  have  been  many  times 
when  they  were  sold  here  much  cheaper  than  they  could  be  bought 
at  European  works. 

Such  free  trade  nonsense  is  matched  by  many  protectionist 
pamphlets  declaring  that  high  tariffs  mean  high  prices  and  high 
wages,  when  on  the  one  hand  we  have  seen  the  United  States  selling 
steel  cheaper  than  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  we  may  see 
Austria  and  France,  both  high  tariff  nations,  paying  starvation 
wages  to  their  work-people,  and  using  women  in  great  numbers  as 
laborers  in  the  roughest  kinds  of  work. 

The  following  conclusions  may  be  wrong,  but  I  trust  they  are 
not  fanatical  or  entirely  unfounded: 

(1)  A  high  tariff  on  a  certain  article  hastens  very  much  the* 
establishment  of  factories  to  produce  that  article. 

(2)  The  establishment  of  a  new  industry  like  making  steel,  cot- 
ton or  woolen  goods,  carpets,  etc.,  etc.,  requires  at  least  ten  years 
before  all  the  social  and  industrial  conditions  have  become  so  corre- 
lated that  the  cost  of  production  reaches  an  economical  footing. 

(3)  During  this  period  the  general  public  pays  a  somewhat 
higher  price  for  this  article,  the  excess  depending  on  the  amount  of 
protection  and  the  amount  of  domestic  competition. 

(4)  In  some  cases  and  in  industries  not  requiring  very  large  in- 
vestments of  capital  or  the  creation  of  communities  of  special  work- 
men, this  period  during  which  the  public  is  so  taxed  may  be  very 
short,  and  the  price  may  soon  drop  even  below  that  paid  to  foreign 
manufacturers. 

(5)  If  the  profits  to  the  protected  manufacturer  are  large,  new 
works  will  be  erected,  and  if  these  combine  to  extort  an  unreason- 
able profit,  still  other  works  will  be  built,  the  end  being  the  same 
in  any  event  in  that  the  needs  will  be  met  and  internal  competition 
ultimately  bring  about  a  price  representing  in  the  long  run  not 
much  over  a  fair  profit. 

(6)  Whether  this  price,  the  cost  plus  a  fair  profit,  is  or  is  not 


FACTORS   IN    INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  437 

more  than  the  price  abroad  will  depend  upon  the  natural  advantages 
of  the  situation.  If  an  article  cannot  be  made  here  as  cheaply  as 
abroad,  then  the  question  must  be  answered  whether  the  public 
should  pay  the  premium.  If  it  can  be  made  as  cheaply,  then  com- 
petition will  force  it  to  be  so  made. 

(7)  The  "price  abroad"  is  a  term  which  must  be  used  carefully, 
for  the  price  at  which  standard  articles  can  be  bought  from  time  to 
time  for  delivery  beyond  the  borders  of  the  home  market  does  not 
in  the  least  represent  what  would  be  the  price  under  a  greater 
demand;  such  a  demand,  for  instance,  as  would  be  made  on  Ger- 
many and  the  United  States  if  all  the  steel  works  of  England  should 
shut  down.    Neither  do  these  quotations  represent  the  real  cost  of 
manufacture. 

(8)  The  real  cost  of  manufacture  includes  many  things  which 
are  usually  overlooked,  but  which  are  of  immense  importance.    The 
main  items  are  as  follows,  it  being  assumed  for  the  sake  of  sim- 
plicity that  a  steel  works  owns  its  own  ore  and  coal  mines  and  coke 
ovens : 

(a)  Actual  operating  costs  at  all  mines  and  works,  including 
labor,  fuel,  repairs,  etc.,  etc. 

(b)  Freight  charges  on  all  raw  materials  and  incidentals. 

(c)  Interest  at  6  per  cent,  on  all  money  actually  invested  in 
mines  and  plant,  and  on  all  floating  capital  needed  to  carry  on  the 
business. 

(d)  Expenses  incident  to  superintendence,  selling  agencies,  taxes, 
bad  debts,  pensions,  damages,  etc.,  etc. 

(e)  Depreciation,  by  which  is  meant  a  class  of  items  generally 
overlooked.     The  ore  and  coal  must  bear  not  only  the  interest  on 
the  money  invested,  but  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  for  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  material  when  the  beds  are  exhausted.    The  depreciation  of 
the  steel  plant  itself  is  still  higher,  for  it  is  almost  safe  to  say  that 
to  keep  a  steel  works  up  to  its  value,  to  keep  it  as  a  factor  in  the 
great  strife  of  competition,  requires  an  annual  expenditure  of  ten 
per  cent,  of  its  cost.    Engines,  boilers,  rolling  mills,  cranes,  shears 
and  all  the  manifold  equipment  may  last  that  time,  may  last  longer, 
or  may  be  outlawed  before  that  period  expires.     A  mill  not  up  to 
date  cannot  compete  with  one  that  is,  and  if  it  cannot  compete, 
then  it  loses  money ;  and  if  it  loses  money,  then  it  is  worth  nothing, 
absolutely  nothing,  no  matter  how  new  it  is  or  how  much  it  cost. 


438  THE  IRON  INDUSTKY. 

(9)  This  item  of  depreciation  is  often  represented  on  the  cost 
sheets  by  new  equipment  and  machinery,  but  sometimes  these  are 
erroneously  or  falsely  put  into  the  capitalization  account.    Whether 
ten  per  cent,  is  or  is  not  the  correct  figure  for  a  steel  plant,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  a  very  considerable  amount  must  be  included  in 
the  true  cost  of  manufacture. 

Assuming  that  the  plant  cost  ten  million  dollars,  a  depreciation 
of  ten  per  cent,  is  equal  to  one  million  annually;  and  if  the  pro- 
duction during  the  year  is  five  hundred  thousand  tons,  then  this, 
charge  amounts  to  two  dollars  on  every  ton  of  steel  made.  It  may 
be  more  in  some  works  and  may  be  less  in  others. 

(10)  When  business  is  slack  it  is  necessary  that  the  manufac- 
turer ignore  this  item  altogether,  for  he  will  assuredly  operate  his 
plant  if  he  can  cover  his  actual  running  expenses.    If,  therefore,  he 
does  not  earn  his  depreciation  during  a  period  of  one,  two  or  three 
years,  then  he  must  earn  a  double  amount  for  an  equal  period  when 
good  times  return,  and  this  must  not  be  considered  as  profit.     He 
must  also  ignore  the  interest  on  the  money  invested  in  plant  and  in 
floating  capital,  as  well  as  the  expenses  of  selling  agencies,  taxes, 
insurance,  etc.,  since  all  these  items,  like  depreciation,  will  go  on 
whether  steel  is  made  or  not. 

(11)  During  this  era  of  low  prices,  the  actual  cost  sheets  and  the 
annual  reports  may  show  no  loss  or  even  a  margin  of  profit,  and 
the  average  observer  might  conclude  that  these  figures  represent  the 
proper  selling  price,  a  conclusion  which  would  be  entirely  erroneous. 

(12)  It  is  the  part  of  common  sense  for  rival  manufacturers  to 
get  together  and  agree  to  prevent  cutthroat  competition,  by  which 
not  only  are  all  profits  thrown  away  and  all  depreciation  and  in- 
terest charges  ignored,  but  even  operating  costs  encroached  upon. 
A  fair  price  under  such  an  arrangement  would  include  depreciation 
and  interest  as  fundamental  parts  of  the  cost. 

(13)  Having  made  such  an  agreement,  for  home  trade  it  becomes 
good  policy  to  ignore  these  items  on  competitive  business  for  foreign 
deliveries,  since  they  are  both  fixed  quantities,  not  depending  on  the 
amount  of  steel  produced,  and  the  extra  output  caused  by  such 
foreign  deliveries  cheapens  the  cost  to  the  manufacturer.     More- 
over, certain  lines  of  foreign  trade  cannot  be  held  if  prices  are  varied 
with  every  local  advance.    Having  secured,  for  instance,  the  business 
of  a  certain  railway  in  Australia,  it  is  evidently  quite  impossible 


FACTORS   IN   INDUSTRIAL   COMPETITION.  439 

to  retain  it  if  the  price  quoted  follows  every  boom  in  the  home 
market;  and  it  is  certainly  good  policy  to  keep  the  trade  of  this 
railway  for  future  business,  in  spite  of  the  hue  and  cry  about  lower 
prices  to  foreign  buyers. 

(14)  This  argument  is  not  new,  but  has  been  an  accepted  com- 
mercial and  industrial  maxim  in  every  country,  under  both  protec- 
tion and  free  trade,  and  all  the  "prices  abroad,"  so  freely  quoted, 
are  based  on  this  rule  as  existing  in  foreign  lands.    It  is  even  true 
that  bounties  are  actually  paid  in  some  instances  to  encourage 
export  trade. 

(15)  The  payment  01  a  bounty  for  export  trade  is  directly  in 
line  with  the  maintenance  of  a  protective  duty  after  the  incubative 
period  has  passed.     Practically  it  must  be  looked  upon  as  out  of 
the  question  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  arriving  at  a  complete 
knowledge  of  just  what  would  be  equitable,  but  although  such  a 
system  would  breed  many  wrongs,  it  is  theoretically  justifiable  to  a 
certain  limited  extent. 

A  steel  works,  in  common  with  every  manufacturing  plant,  is  a 
benefit  to  the  general  public  in  many  ways.  It  contributes  to  the 
payment  of  taxes  and  thus  saves  an  equivalent  amount  of  individual 
expenditure.  It  is  the  foundation  of  large  communities  which 
influence  and  increase  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country  by  giv- 
ing a  market  for  all  kinds  of  commodities.  It  supplies  freight  to 
the  railroads  in  enormous  quantities,  and  brings  an  enormous  in- 
come to  the  railroads,  the  gross  receipts  from  a  steel  works  being 
four  or  possibly  six  times  as  much  as  though  a  similar  amount  of 
material  were  imported  from  abroad,  and  there  were  no  raw  ma- 
terials or  incidental  supplies  to  assemble.  The  cost  of  moving 
other  freight  is  reduced  by  this  increased  business,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  other  industries  thereby  made  possible,  which,  in  turn, 
react  by  further  lowering  the  cost  of  transportation  by  their  con- 
tribution to  tonnage  moved. 

A  nation  would  lose  no  money  if  a  bounty  were  paid  to  support 
manufactures,  provided  such  support  were  necessary,  and  provided 
that  the  bounty  did  not  exceed  the  sum  directly  and  indirectly  paid 
or  saved  by  the  manufacturer  to  the  state  and  to  the  public.  If 
German  steel  is  laid  down  in  England  at  one  shilling  per  ton 
cheaper  than  English  steel  works  can  make  it,  and  if  that  shilling 
represents  the  dividing  line  of  business,  then  it  would  be  money  in 


440  .  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

the  pocket  of  the  taxpayers  of  England  if  a  protective  duty  of  one 
shilling  were  levied  upon  foreign  steel,  since  the  amounts  contrib- 
uted by  works  in  operation  must  be  much  more  than  this.  It  is 
impossible  to  give  the  upper  limit  of  such  a  tariff,  for  the  conditions 
are  too  various  and  include  all  the  correlated  conditions,  down  to 
the  higher  value  of  farm  products  in  industrial  communities. 
Within  this  range,  whatever  the  limits  may  be,  a  protective  tariff 
is  not  illogical;  beyond  the  limit,  it  is  uneconomical. 

Such  are  my  opinions.  They  may  not  embrace  absolute  truth. 
Few  things  have  ever  been  written  that  were  beyond  need  of  change, 
but  it  has  been  deemed  advisable  to  revise  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis  and  it  is  barely  possible  that  some  alteration  may  be  neces- 
sary in  the  Wealth  of  Nations  by  one  Adam  Smith. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

THE   UNITED   STATES. 

SECTION  XXIIa. — General  view. — It  is  impossible  to  survey  the 
iron  industry  of  the  United  States  as  thoroughly  as  those  of  the 
nations  of  Europe  will  be  discussed,  for  our  country  is  entirely  out 
of  proportion  to  the  scale  by  which  other  countries  are  considered. 
For  instance,  the  State  of  New  York  is  not  only  left  undivided  in 
current  statistics  of  the  iron  industry,  but  is  combined  with  New 
Jersey,  and  yet  the  iron  and  steel  business  of  the  State  is  made  up 
of  two  parts,  entirely  independent  of  each  other.  In  the  northeast 
are  the  mines  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  in  the  extreme  west  the 
furnaces  of  Buffalo  smelting  Lake  Superior  ores.  These  two  dis- 
tricts have  no  relation  to  each  other  and  are  250  miles  apart;  farther 
than  the  mines  of  the  Cleveland  district  from  the  coal  of  Cardiff; 
as  far  as  from  Prague,  in  Bohemia,  to  Gleiwitz,  in  Silesia.  In  the 
same  way  Virginia  is  considered  as  a  whole,  although  it  covers  an 
area  as  great  as  England;  it  is  not  regarded  as  a  great  center  of 
pig-iron  production,  but  it  makes  half  as  much  as  Belgium  and 
nearly  double  the  output  of  Aachen  and  Ilsede  combined. 

The  distinctive  feature  of  the  American  iron  industry  is  the 
great  distance  through  which  raw  material  must  be  carried.  In 
Europe  a  haul  of  200  miles  is  long  and  the  cost  excessive,  while  in 
America  it  is  not  unusual  at  all.  Coal  and  coke  are  carried  as  far 
as  this  in  several  instances,  while  Chicago  draws  its  furnace  fuel 
from  500  to  600  miles.  In  the  publication  of  the  American  Iron 
and  Steel  Association  a  magnificent  disregard  of  distance  combines 
the  outputs  of  Colorado  and  Missouri,  which  are  800  miles  apart; 
as  far  as  from  Paris  to  Warsaw.  The  statistical  reports  of  America 
are  quite  full  in  respect  to  the  product  of  pig-iron,  but  the  data 
on  steel  are  unsatisfactory  owing  to  the  desire  for  secrecy  on  the 
part  of  some  manufacturers.  Table  XXII-B  gives  the  production  of 
steel  from  1867,  while  Table  XXII-C  shows  the  different  kinds  of 

441 


442 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


steel  made  in  both  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  Table 
XXII-D  the  percentage  of  each  product. 

In  1867  the  production  of  Bessemer  steel  in  the  United  States 
was  2679  tons.  Some  small  quantities  were  made  before  this,  but 
the  industry  was  put  on  a  permanent  footing  by  the  establishment 
of  an  entirely  new  Bessemer  plant  at  Steelton,  Pa.,  a  plant  which 
has  continued  to  make  steel  from  then  until  now.  This  was  fol- 
lowed in  the  same  year  by  Troy,  while  Cambria,  at  Johnstown,  was 
the  next  to  enter  the  field.  From  1867  to  1871  about  20,000  tons 


TABLE  XXII-A. 
Output  of  Pig-Iron  and  Steel  in  1901  in  the  United  States. 

See  text  for  boundaries  of  districts ;  thus  "  Pittsburgh  "  includes  parts  of  three  States 
and  output  of  pig-iron  for  "  Steelton  "  includes  two  counties. 


District. 

Blast 
Furnaces. 

Pig  Iron. 

3 

ic 
I 
** 

!i 

°£ 

0-* 

z, 

No  .of  works  making  cruci- 
ble  steel. 

Bessemer  Converters. 

Small,  mostly 
for  steel 
castings 

Standard 
size 
7  to  20  ton. 

Coke. 

Char- 
coal. 

Output; 
tons. 

Per 
cent, 
of 
total 

No. 

Aver- 
age 
capac- 
ity. 

No 

Av*r- 
age 
capac- 
ity. 

pittsburg     

82 
20 

6,880.000 
1,597,000 
1,225,000 
783,000 
695000 
512000 
481,000 

478,000 
449,000 

439,000 
337.000 
309.000 
303.000 
208,000 
185,000 
171,000 
398.000 
301,000 
68000 
18,000 

I    27:000 
12,000 

43.3 
10.1 
7.7 
4.9 
4.4 
8.2 
3.0 

3.0 
2.8 

2.8 
2  1 
2.0 
1.9 
1.3 
1.2 
1.1 
25 
1.9 
0.4 
0.1 

0.2 
0.1 

137 
21 
10 
15 
12 
3 
11 

36 
6 

38 
2 
4 
C 
7 
2 
6 
45 
27 
9 
5 

ir 

2 

30 
5 

10 
11 

Illinois                   .... 

3 

2 

39 

8 
18 
6 

6 

Cleveland,  Ohio  
Steelton.  Pa  

.... 



4 
3 
4 
4 

11 
10 
12 
7 

Lehigh  Valley,  Pa.  .  . 
Southeastern    Penn- 
sylvania   

29 

17 
22 

27 
15 
11 
4 
6 
3 

1 

4 

3 
1 

8 

'"i" 

1 
3 

p 

2 

Virginia 

New  York  and  Ne\\ 
Jersey           

8 
1 

Hanging  Rock.  Ohio. 
Sparrow's  Point.  Md 
Wisconsin  and  Minn. 
Colorado        

2 

20 

4 

"2 
3 

3 
'"2* 

2 

'  2" 

2 

5 

9 
3 

"*i" 
"•4" 

7 

Other  parts  Penn  — 
Other  parts  Ohio  — 

17 
9 
8 
1 
2 
1 

1 

1 

2 

2 

4 
5 

.... 

2 

2 

North  Carolina  
Georgia  

15 
°S 

3 

2 

2 

7 

6 

2,000 

8 

1 

2 

Total 

345 

54 

15,878,000 

100.0 

460 

45 

19 

58 

THE  UNITED  STATES. 


443 


TABLE  XXII-A.— Continued. 


District 

Open  Hearth  Furnaces. 

Steel  ;  all  kindg. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Steel  castings 
not  included 
in  foregoing. 

No. 

Aver- 
age 
caj>ac- 
ity. 

No. 

Aver- 
age 
capac- 
ity. 

No. 

Aver- 
age 
capac 
ity. 

Output; 
tous. 

Per 

cent, 
of 

total. 

Pittsburgh  

35 
3 
3 
2 

12 
3 

30 
25 
25 
35 
30 
45 

84 
9 
10 
8 
33 
9 

40 
40 
30 
40 
40 
40 

20 
13 
2 
2 
14 
2 

18 
15 
10 
4 
20 
15 

(7,317,000) 
1,750,000 
870,000 
656.000 
629,000 
427,000 
352,000 
352.00C 
173,000 
(150.000) 
(150,000) 

107,000 
69,000 
(50,000) 
15,000 
165.000 
53.000 

(189,000) 

54.3 
13.0 
64 
4.9 
4.7 
3.2 
2.6 
2.6 
1.3 
1.1 
1.1 

0.8 
0.5 
0.4 
0.1 
1.2 
0.4 

1.4 

Illinois  

Cleveland,  Ohio  

Johnstown  Pa  

Southeastern  Peiin 

Steeiton.Pa  

Sparrow's  Point,  Md  

New  England  

5 

15 

6 

13 

40 
45 

6 
1 

15 

20 

New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey 

2 
6 

25 
30 

8 
2 

20 
40 

10 

10 

Lehigh  Valley,  Pa  

Missouri  •  

3 

20 

Hanging  Rock,  Ohio.  .  .  . 

4 

30 

Other  parts  of  Ohio.  ... 

4 
4 

11 

20 

15 
4 
1 
3 

15 
15 
3 
20 

Other  parts  of  Peim  
Tenneessee  

3 

15 

Wisconsin  and  Minn  — 
Michigan  . 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

20 
15 
7 
30 
50 

3 

15 

7 
1 
4 

.    25 
30 
50 

Indiana  

7 

20 

Delaware  .  .        . 

Total  

84 

204 

103 

13,474.000 

100.0 

per  year,  or  about  half  the  steel  made  in  the  country,  was  made  by 
the  Bessemer  process,  and  all  of  this  went  into  rails.  From  1872  to 
1874  the  annual  production  was  about  140,000  tons,  all  of  which 
was  rail  steel,  and  this  represented  about  three-quarters  of  the  steel 
output.  From  1875  to  1879  the  output  of  Bessemer  increased  five- 
fold over  the  period  just  previous,  and  averaged  560,000  tons  per 
year.  A  great  part  was  made  in  the  eastern  portion  of  Pennsylvania, 
at  Steelton,  Johnstown,  Bethlehem  and  Scranton ;  but  the  then  new 
works  of  Edgar  Thomson,  at  Pittsburgh,  and  the  plants  at  Chicago 
and  Cleveland  had  become  factors  of  great  importance.  The  Bes- 
semer output  during  this  time  was  88  per  cent,  of  the  steel  output 
of  the  country  and  all  of  it  was  rolled  into  rails. 

From  1880  to  1882  the  output  more  than  doubled  and  almost  all 
was  put  into  rails.    During  this  period  there  was  a  marked  increase 


444 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXII-B. 
Output  of  Steel  in  the  United  States  from  1867  to  1904. 


Year. 

Bessemer  In- 
gots. 

Open  Hearth 
Ingots. 

All  Kinds  of 
Steel. 

Bessemer  Rails. 

Bessemer 
Steel  ;  per 
cent,  of 
total  Steel. 

1867 

2,679 
7,589 
10,714 
37,500 
40,179 
107,239 
152,368 
171,369 
335,283 
469,639 
500,524 
653.773 
829,439 
1,074,262 
1.374,247 
1,514.687 
1,477  345 
1,375,531 
1,519,430 
2,269,190 
2,936,033 
2,511.161 
2,930,204 
3,688,871 
3,247,417 
4,168,435 
3,215,686 
3,571,313 
4,909,128 
3,919,906 
5,475,315 
6,609,017 
7,586,354 
6,684,770 
8.713.302 
9,138,363 
8,592,829 
7.859,140 

19,643 
26,786 
31,250 
68,750 
73,214 
142,954 
198,796 
215,727 
389,799 
533,191 
569,618 
731,977 
935,273 
1,247335 
1,588,314 
1,736,692 
1,673,535 
1,550,879 
1,711,920 
2,562,503 
3,339,071 
2,899,440 
3,385,732 
4,277,071 
3,904.240 
4,927,581 
4,019,995 
4,412,032 
6.114,834 
5,281,689 
7,156,957 
8,932,857 
10,639,857 
10,188,329 
13,473,595 
14,947.250 
14,534.978 
13,859,887 

2,277 
6,451 
8,616 
30,357 
34,152 
83,991 
115,192 
129,414 
259,699 
368,269 
385,865 
491,427 
610,682 
852,196 
1,187,770 
1,284,067 
1,148.709 
996,983 
959,471 
1,574,703 
2,101,904 
1386,277 
1,510,057 
1,867,837 
1.293,053 
1,537,588 
1,129,400 
1,016,013 
1.299,628 
1,116,958 
1,644,520 
1,976,702 
2,270,585 
2,383,654 
2.870,816 
2,935,392 
2,946,756 
2,137,957 

14 
28 
34 
53 
55 

7f 

77 

79 
86 
88 
88 
89 
89 
86 
87 
87 
88 
89 
89 
89 
88 
87 
87 
87 
83 
85 
80 
81 
80 
74 
77 
74 
71 
66 
65 
61 
59 
57 

1868 

1869 

893 
1,339 
1,785 
2,679 
3,125 
6,250 
8,080 
19,187 
22,349 
32,255 
50,259 
100,851 
131,202 
14°,341 
119,356 
117,515 
133,376 
218,973 
322,069 
314,318 
374,543 
513,232 
579,753 
669,889 
737,890 
784,936 
1,137,182  . 
1,298,700 
1,608,671 
2,230,292 
2,947,316 
3,398,135 
4.656.309 
5,687,729 
5,829,911 
5,908.166 

1870  

1871 

1872  
1873     

1874 

1875  

1876        .... 

1877  

1878  

1879 

1880  

1881.   . 

1882 

1883  

1884  
1885 

1886  

1887 

1888  

1889        .  .    . 

1890 

1891  

1892 

1893 

1894  

1895 

1896  

1897 

1898 

1899  
1900  
1901  

1902!  .  ! 

1903  
1904  

in  open-hearth  steel,  a  start  having  been  made  at  the  New  Jersey 
Steel  and  Iron  Co.  in  1868,  but  it  was  not  until  1880  that  the  out- 
put reached  100,000  tons  per  year.  Up  to  this  time  the  steel  in- 
dustry was  largely  dependent  upon  Spanish  ores,  and  the  works 
near  the  eastern  seaboard  were  in  the  most  advantageous  position; 
but  from  1880  to  1890  the  development  of  the  Lake  Superior  de- 
posits and  the  establishment  of  cheap  transportation  made  the 
United  States  practically  independent  of  foreign  ore,  while  the 
exploitation  of  the  Mesabi  range  in  1893  transferred  the  command 
of  the  steel  market  to  a  point  west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains. 

From  1883  to  1837  the  production  of  Bessemer  steel  was  1,900,- 
000  tons  per  year,  being  89  per  cent,  of  the  total,  the  open-hearth 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


445 


TABLE  XXII-C. 

Production  per  Year  during  Certain  Periods  of  Bessemer  and 
Open-Hearth  Ingots  and  Eail  Steel. 

NOTE.— It  is  assumed  that  100  tons  of  ingots  =  83.3  tons  of  rails. 


United  States. 

Great  Britain. 

h 

8  II  » 

h 

SB  3 

Period.; 

Total 
steel. 

II 

CD  fcfi 

Open- 
hearth 
ingots. 

mi 
BW 

Total 
steel. 

ii 

-7    ^ 

Open- 
hearth 
ingots. 

|1|| 

*T 

iiii 

I 

ll&2 

1867-1871  incl 

44,000 

20,000 

800 

19,000 

180,000 

1872  1874     " 

186000 

143000 

4,000 

131000 

482000 

1875-1879     " 

1880-1882 

632,000 
1,524,000 

558.000 
1,320,000 

26,000 
125,000 

-yis.uxi 

963,000 
1,808,000 

742,000 

1,387.1  N  Xi 

141,000 
342,000 

*564,000 
1,196,000 

1883-1887 

1888-1890 

2,167,000  1,910,000 
3,521,000!  3,040,000 

182,000  1,627,000 
401,000  1,906,000 

2,280,000 
3,585,000 

1.5ttt.iXiO 

2,OU3.<  xx.) 

»>KOOO 

1,042,000 
1,172,000 

1891-1893 

4,284,000'  3,540.000 

663,000  1,584.000 

3,109,000 

1,545,000 

1.46:5.1  x  m 

712,000 

1894-1896 

5,269,000  4,130,000 

1,074,000:  1,373,000 

3,611,000 

1,629,000 

1  8S)  (XXI 

808,000 

1897-1899 

8,910,000;  6,560,000 

2,262,000  2,357,000 

4,751,000 

1.823.  <X  m 

2,813,000 

1,004.000 

1900 

10  188  OOOi  fi  fifts  nnn 

3398000  2861000 

6,060,000 

1  745000 

3156000 

912,000 

1901  .. 

13,474,000 

8,713,000 

4,656,000  3,445,000 

4,904,000 

1,6116.253 

3,297,791 

878,000 

1902 

14,947,250 

9  138363 

5  687  729  3  522  470 

4909067 

1,825,779 

1,083,859 

1903... 

14.534.978 

5,829.911  3.536.107 

5,034,101 

1,910,018 

3.  124.<  1*3 

1,273,729 

1904  

13,859,887 

7,859,140 

5,908,166  2,565,548 

5,126,879 

1,718,538 

3,245,346 

999,649 

*  1875  is  estimated. 


TABLE  XXII-D. 

Proportion  of  Various  Kinds  of  Steel  made  in  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain. 


Period. 

Bessemer  steel. 

Open  hearth. 

Per  cent,  of  total. 

Rail  steel  per  cent, 
of  Bessemer. 

Per  cent,  of  total. 

United 
States. 

Great 
Britain. 

United 
States. 

Great 
Britain. 

United 
States. 

Great 
Britain. 

1867-1871  inclusive 

45 
77 
88 
87 
89 
87 
83 
78 
74 
66 
65 
61 
59 
57 

95 
92 
91 
100 
85 
63 
45 
33 
36 
44 
40 
39 
41 
33 

2 
2 
4 
8 
9 
11 
15 
20 
25 
33 
35 
38 
40 
43 

1872-1874 

1875-1879 

77 
70 
58 
50 
45 
38 
35 
33 
37 
38 
33 

76 
86 
67 
57 
46 
50 
55 
52 
55 
59 
67 
58 

15 
19 
28 
40 
47 
52 
59 
62 
67 
63 
62 
63 

1880-1882 

1883-1887 

1888-1890 

1891-1893 

1894-1896 

1897-1899 

1900  

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

446  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

furnaces  making  one-tenth  as  much.  Only  85  per  cent,  of  the 
Bessemer  steel  was  rolled  into  rails,  for  at  Steelton,  Cambria,  Beth- 
lehem and  elsewhere,  considerable  high-carbon  steel  was  being  made, 
as  well  as  some  soft  steel.  Some  Bessemer  plants  not  connected 
with  rail  mills  were  operated  to  make  steels  for  special  purposes  and 
supply  the  general  trade,  and  this  development  became  more  pro- 
nounced from  1888  to  1890,  when  only  63  per  cent,  was  put  into 
rails,  while  from  1891  to  1893  more  than  half  the  Bessemer  output 
went  into  miscellaneous  work,  and  from  1894  to  1896  only  one- 
third  was  used  for  rails. 

This  great  change  was  brought  about  by  many  causes,  among 
which  was  the  general  use  of  the  reversing  mill  for  rolling  four-inch 
square  billets  directly  from  the  ingot,  and  the  immediate  accept- 
ance by  the  trade  of  that  size  as  the  standard.  By  the  economies 
following  this  innovation  wrought-iron  was  driven  from  the  market 
and  was  superseded  by  steel.  One  of  the  most  important  fields  af- 
fected by  this  change  was  the  making  of  railway  joints  or  splices, 
which  amount  to  from  five  to  seven  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the 
rails  themselves.  A  still  greater  change  was  the  rapid  and  almost 
complete  substitution  of  steel  for  plates  and  sheets  of  all  kinds. 

During  all  these  years  the  open-hearth  process  has  been  making 
very  heavy  strides  and  narrowing  the  field  of  the  Bessemer  converter. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  trespass  was  in  high-carbon  steels;  it  was 
found  that  the  steel  made  in  the  regenerative  furnace  gave  better 
results,  and  today  very  little  high  steel  is  made  by  the  pneumatic 
method.  The  next  encroachment  was  in  structural  shapes,  where  the 
Bessemer  product  found  a  great  outlet  in  the  years  from  1885  to 
1893.  The  converter  product  going  into  bridges  is  very  small  at 
present,  while  it  is  becoming  less  for  ships  and  buildings.  This 
growth  of  the  open-hearth  furnace  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1901 
the  steel  made  in  the  converter  formed  only  65  per  cent,  of  the  total 
output,  while  from  1875  to  1890  it  was  about  88  per  cent.  It  is 
also  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  two  years  of  1900  and  1901  the 
proportion  of  Bessemer  steel  used  for  rails  increased  to  an  average 
of  42  per  cent.,  it  being  only  33  per  cent,  in  1894  to  1896. 

Today  two-thirds  of  the  steel  made  in  the  United  States  is  Bes- 
semer and  one-third  open-hearth.  Practically  all  the  rails  are  Bes- 
semer, but  open-hearth  steel  is  used  for  almost  all  other  work  where 
the  material  is  subject  to  physical  and  chemical  specifications.  One- 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


447 


quarter  of  this  open-hearth  steel  is  made  on  an  acid  hearth,  the  re- 
mainder on  dolomite  or  magnesite  linings.  The  use  of  the  basic 
furnace  is  spreading  both  in  small  and  large  plants,  but  few  new 
Bessemer  plants  are  being  erected.  No  fuel  is  imported  for  the 
making  of  iron  and  steel,  but  a  considerable  quantity  of  ore  is 
brought  from  Cuba  to  points  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  as  shown 
by  Table  XXII-E. 

TABLE  XXII-E. 

Iron  Ore  Imported  into  the  United  States. 


Imported  from 

1896 

1898 

1900 

1903 

Cuba                               

380,551 

165,623 

431,265 

613,585 

Spain 

121,132 

13,335 

253,694 

94,720 

French  Africa  

79.661 

20,000 

7,830 

Italy 

81.883 

18,951 

33,750 

7,200 

23.350 

86,730 

•>l  1  SI  K  1 

140,535 

6,843 

United  Kingdom 

8,528 

683 

397 

Colombia               

3,150 

3,000 

169,681 

Quebec    Ontario  etc                ... 

5,588 

1,051 

Other  countries  

5,352 

367 

1,051 

Total 

682,806 

187,208 

897,831 

980,440 

A  map  is  given  in  Fig.  XXII-A,  taken  from  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey.  This  shows  the  coal  fields  of  the  United  States,  the 
anthracite  deposits  of  eastern  Pennsylvania  being  noted  by  solid 
black.  The  crosses  denote  important  producers  of  ore,  the  only  ones 
worthy  of  note  being  the  Lake  Superior  deposits,  and  those  of 
Alabama,  Colorado  and  Cornwall,  Pa.  The  circles  indicate  the  steel- 
producing  centers. 

SEC.  XXIIb.— Coal: 

Anthracite. — Many  jrears  ago  lump  anthracite  was  commonly 
used  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  as  the  only  fuel 
put  into  the  blast  furnace,  but  this  practice  has  become  the  excep- 
tion, and  coke  from  Connellsville  has  for  a  long  period  been  carried 
to  furnaces  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  hard  coal  region.  Some  fur- 
naces do  use  anthracite  alone,  and  at  many  plants  it  is  not  unusual 
to  use  a  certain  proportion  of  hard  coal,  but  this  hardly  warrants 
the  classification  of  many  Eastern  plants  as  "anthracite  furnaces." 

Hard  coal  is  used  in  firing  boilers,  but  only  the  small  sizes  are 
available,  the  larger  kinds  commanding  a  higher  price  for  household 
use.  Except  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines  it  is  more  economical 


448 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


to  use  bituminous  coal  than  the  sizes  that  can  be  sold  for  domestic 
purposes.  The  smaller  grades  will  not  burn  readily  and  require 
a  blast  when  used  under  boilers.  In  many  Eastern  cities  the  com- 


FIG.  XXII-A. — UNITED  STATES;  WESTERN  HALF. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


449 


munity  demands  a  smokeless  stack,  so  that  factories  are  practically 
compelled  to  use  hard  coal;  but  aside  from  this,  hard  coal  may  be 
considered  simply  as  the  fuel  for  household  purposes  in  the  north- 


ir    E    x     r     o     o 


FIG.  XXII-A. — UNITED  STATES;  EASTERN  HALF. 


450 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


eastern  part  of  the  country.  A  certain  amount  is  also  raised  in 
Colorado  and  New  Mexico,  but  the  quantity  is  trifling  compared 
with  the  output  of  the  Appalachian  field.  The  hard  coal  district  of 
Pennsylvania  is  divided  into  three  parts,  which  are  shown  in  Fig. 
XXII-B  as  Nos.  14,  15  and  16.  Following  is  a  description  of  each 
division : 


No.  in  Fig. 
XXII  B. 

Name. 

Local  Districts. 

Situation  in  Counties  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

14 

Wyoming. 

Carbondale,  Scranton.  Pittston. 
Wilkesbarre,  Plymouth,  Kings 
ton. 

Luzerne  and  Lackawanna. 

15 

Lehigh. 

Green  Mountain,  Black  Creek, 
Hazleton,  Beaver  Meadow 

Luzerne  and  small  parts  of  Car- 
bon. Schuylkill  and  Colum- 
bia. 

16 

Schuylkill, 

Panther  Creek.  Lorberry,  Fast 
Schuylkill.West  Schuylkill.  Ly- 
kens  Valley.  Shamokin.  East 
Mahanoy  West  Mahanoy. 

Carbon,  Dauphin,  Schuylkill, 
Columbia  and  Northumber- 
land. 

All  this  region  is  in  the  eastern  center  of  the  State.     The  total 
production  of  anthracite  in  1903  was  as  follows,  in  short  tons : 

Pennsylvania   74,607,068 

Colorado  and  New  Mexico 72,731 


Total    74,679,799 

Bituminous. — In  the  production  of  anthracite  coal  eastern 
Pennsylvania  stands  alone,  while  in  bituminous  coal  western  Penn- 
sylvania stands  pre-eminently  first.  The  leading  counties  are 
Westmoreland,  Fayette  and  Allegheny,  with  Cambria,  Clearfield, 
Jefferson  and  Washington  following  with  heavy  outputs.  The 
Clearfield  coal  is  one  of  the  best  coals  for  steam  purposes,  and,  to- 
gether with  the  Pocahontas  and  New  River  coals  of  West  Virginia, 
is  carried  in  great  quantities  to  Eastern  points.  The  Westmoreland 
coal  is  exceptionally  rich,  and  is  well  adapted  for  making  producer- 
gas. 

The  coal  deposits  of  the  United  States  are  divided  into  seven, 
fields,  shown  in  Fig.  XXII-A,  but  only  four  are  important: 

(1)  The  Appalachian,  extending  from  New  York  to  Alabama,  a 
length  of  900  miles,  and  a  width  varying  from  30  to  180  miles. 


THE   UNITED   STATES. 


451 


iPiG.  XXII-B. — PENNSYLVANIA,  WEST  VIRGINIA,  OHIO,  ETC.  £ 
EASTERN  HALF. 


452 


THE   IRON    INDUSTRY. 


/  ~  uciairsville 

lttsburg^«s_Gaiiitzin« 

"ohnstown 


FIG.  XXII-B.— PENNSYLVANIA,  WEST  VIRGINIA,  OHIO,  ETC.  ; 
WESTERN  HALF. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


453 


(2)  The  Central,  including  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Western  Ken- 
tucky. 

(3)  The  Western,  including  the  coal  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  south  of  the  forty-third 
parallel. 

(4)  The  Rocky  Mountain,  including  the  basins  in  that  range. 
The  coal  from  the  Central  and  Western  divisions  need  not  be 

considered  here,  as  it  has  little  bearing  on  the  iron  industry;  the 
beds  of  the  Appalachian  and  Rocky  Mountain  districts  supply  prac- 
tically all  the  coal  and  coke  used  in  this  branch  of  metallurgy. 
Table  XXII-F  shows  the  output  of  coal  and  coke  in  the  United 
States  in  1902  by  States,  and  Table  XXII-G  the  output  of  the  dif- 
ferent fields.  Table  XXII-H  gives  the  records  for  each  county  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  Table  XXII-I  the  goke  production  in  Pennsylva- 
nia and  West  Virginia.  The  division  into  fields  is  in  accordance 
with  the  usage  of  the  Geological  Survey.  The  numbers  refer  to 
Fig.  XXII-B. 


TABLE  XXII-F. 
Output  of  Coal  and  Coke  in  the  United  States  in  1902. 


Coal. 

Coke. 

Anthracite. 

Bituminous. 

No.  of  ovens. 

Production. 

Pennsylvania  

41,373,595 

94,525,584 
32,716,677 
8,313,880 
18,440,226 
23,498,857 
10,354,570 
6,073,962 
1,573,453 
5,871.766 
6,692,863 
5,253,885 
1,448,634 
3,872,523 
4.382,968 
2,498,283 

36,609 
149 
50 
12,656 
449 
7,571 
3,010  1 
404f 

16,497,910 

Illinois* 

Indiana*  

West  Virginia  i 

2,516,505 
146,099 
2,552,246 

1,003,393 

Ohio  . 

Alabama  

Colorado  

52,611 

Utah  

Iowa  

Kentucky  

485 
97 
74 

126,879 
20,902 

Kansas  

Wyoming*  

Maryland  

Tennessee  .  .  . 

2,269 
2,974 
400 
492 
410 
280 
690 

560,006 
1,124,572 

Virginia  

Massachusetts*  

Georgia  

414,083 
1  550  876 

82,0*>4 
53,463 
49,441 

668,250 

Montana  

Indian  Territory  

2,232,042 
8,982,499 

Others*  

41,326 

Total 

41,467,532 

238,697,631 

69,069 

25,401,730 

*The  coke  production  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  New  York 
Wisconsin,  and  Wyoming  amounts  to  2,063,894  tons,  and  is  included  under  "others.' 
The  separate  statistics  are  not  given  in  the  Government  report. 


454 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXII-G. 
Output  of  the  Principal   Coal  Fields  of  the  United  States  in  1902. 


Field. 

Product  ; 
tons. 

Per  cent, 
of  total. 

Appalachian         

173  274  861 

66  6 

Central 

46  133  024 

17  7 

Western 

20  727  495 

8.0 

Rocky  Mountains  

16,149  545 

6.2 

Pacific  Coast 

2834058 

1  1 

Northern  

964,718 

0.4 

Total 

260083701 

100  0 

TABLE  XXII-H. 

Output  of  Bituminous  Coal  in  Pennsylvania  in   1902   and  the 
Amount  Used  for  Making  Coke. 


County. 

Total  coal 
mined;  tons. 

Amount 
coked  ;  tons. 

Fayette  

19  613  161 

11  768503 

Westmoreland  

19  127  904 

6J30  373 

Allegheny  .  . 

12  689  225 

Cambria 

10  942  496 

946  183 

Washington.  .  . 

9  216  267 

3934 

Clearfield 

7  462  682 

291  838 

Jefferson  

6  474  764 

1  314  165 

Somerset  

5  957  751 

74216 

Indiana 

2  043  140 

194021 

Armstrong  .  . 

1  920  584 

Others  

7  669  204 

371  075 

Total  

103  117  178 

21  694  308 

Pennsylvania  Coke  Districts. 

No.  1. — Connellsville :  The  County  of  Fayette  and  the  southern 
half  of  Westmoreland. 

Pittsburgh :  Vicinity  of  Pittsburgh,  the  coke  being  made  from  coal 
brought  down  the  Monongahela  River. 

No.  2. — Reynolds  and  Walton :  Ovens  on  the  Rochester  and  Pitts- 
burgh Railroad,  the  Low  Grade  Division  of  the  Allegheny  Val- 
ley Railway,  and  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie  and  Western  Rail- 
way. 

No.  3. — Upper  Connellsville:  Around  and  north  of  Latrobe,  the 
coal  being  different  from  the  deposit  farther  south. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


455 


No.  4. — Allegheny  Mountain :  Ovens  along  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road from  Gallitzin  to  beyond  Altoona,  and  those  in  Somerset 
County.  Also  those  near  Johnstown. 

No.  5. — Clearfield  Center :   Clearfield  and  Center  counties. 

TABLE  XXII-I. 
Coke  Statistics  for  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia  for  1903. 


State  and  District. 

Coke  ovens. 

Production  ; 
tons. 

Built. 

Building. 

Pennsylvania  — 
Oonnellsville 

22824 
5595 
1636 
2003 
2506 
2047 
1332 
571 
650 
691 
237 

330 
586 
359 

'280 
100 

'iso 

9099100 
2332589 
877640 
810359 
784132 
739263 
451386 
244898 
166355 
133290 

Lower  Connells  ville  

Pittsburgh    

Reynoldsville  (Walton) 

Upper  Connellsville  

Allegheny  Mountain 

Oreensburg  

Broadtop       

Clearneld  Center 

Irwin  

Others  

Total  

40092 

1785 

15639011 

West  Virginia- 
Flat  Top  (Pocahontas) 

8994 
2319 
1090 
2243 
967 

1329 
337 
200 
500 
321 

1314758 
437522 
406706 
368844 
179988 

Upper  Monongahela  

Upper  Potomac  

New  River. 

Kanawha  

Total... 

15613 

2687 

2707818 

No.  6. — Greensburg:    The  central  part  of  Westmoreland  County. 
No.  7.— Broad  Top:    The  Broad  Top  coal  field  in  Bedford  and 

Huntingdon  counties. 
No.  8. — Lower  Connellsville:    A  new  district,  known  also  as  the 

Klondike  district;  a  southwest  extension  of  the  Connellsville 

Basin. 
No.  9. — Irwin :   The  neighborhood  of  Irwin  on  the  Youghiogheny 

Eiver,  in  the  western  part  of  Westmoreland  County. 

West  Virginia  Coke  Districts. 

No.  10. — Pocahontas:  The  counties  of  McDowell  and  Mercer  in 
West  Virginia  and  Tazewell  County  in  Virginia.  Most  of  the 
output  comes  from  the  West  Virginia  side.  This  district  is 
traversed  bv  the  Norfolk  and  Western  Railroad. 


456  THE  IKON  INDUSTRY. 

No.  11. — Upper  Monongahela:  Also  called  the  Fairmount  district; 
it  is  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  drained  by  the  Mononga- 
hela, and  shipping  its  coal  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
It  embraces  Preston,  Taylor,  Harrison  and  Marion  counties. 
The  statistics  include  the  ovens  located  at  Wheeling,  at  the 
Riverside  Iron  Works. 

No.  12. — New  River  and  Kanawha:  Named  from  the  rivers  drain- 
ing them,  and  embracing  Fayette  and  Kanawha  counties.  The 
coal  is  shipped  partly  by  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad 
and  partly  by  the  Kanawha  River. 

No.  13. — Upper  Potomac :  Also  called  the  Elk  Garden  district;  in- 
cludes Mineral,  Tucker  and  Randolph  counties  and  is  the 
southern  extension  of  the  Cumberland  district  of  Maryland. 
The  West  Virginia  Central  and  Pittsburgh  Railway  runs 
through  this  field. 

SEC.  XXIIc. — Lake  Superior: 

NOTE  :  I  am  indebted  to  A.  I.  Findley,  formerly  Editor  of  The  Iron  Trade  Review,  for 
much  information  that  is  here  printed  for  the  first  time. 

Up  to  1880  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  was  the  heaviest  producer 
of  iron  ore  in  the  Union,  but  the  amount  raised  was  entirely  in- 
sufficient to  supply  its  blast  furnaces,  and  large  quantities  were  im- 
ported from  Spain,  and  from  the  west  coast  of  England.  For  years 
Michigan  had  been  mining  ore,  the  Marquette  deposits  having  been 
opened  in  1845,  but  it  was  not  until  1856  that  as  much  as  5000  tons 
was  shipped  to  Pennsylvania.  Transportation  was  high  and  Span- 
ish ores  were  taken  to  Pittsburgh  as  cheaply  as  the  Western  ores 
could  be  laid  down  at  that  point.  The  Menominee  beds  were  opened 
in  1877,  the  first  shipments  from  Escanaba  being  made  in  1880,  and 
in  about  the  year  1881  the  output  of  Michigan  exceeded  that  of  any 
other  State.  In  1884-  the  Gogebic  range  was  opened,  all  three  dis- 
tricts being  in  northwest  Michigan,  but  in  the  same  year  the  Ver- 
milion mines  in  northeastern  Minnesota  began  to  produce,  and 
when,  in  1892  and  1893,  the  Mesabi  range  was  exploited,  Minnesota 
became  a  dangerous  rival.  In  1901  the  Mesabi  mines  produced 
9,303,541  tons  and  the  Vermilion  1,805,996  tons,  a  total  of  11,- 
109,537  tons,  while  Michigan  raised  only  9,654,067  tons,  thus  giv- 
ing first  rank  to  Minnesota.  In  1903  the  Mesabi  and  Vermilion 
districts  together  produced  33  per  cent.  j*"*re  than  the  three  ranges 
of  Michigan. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


457 


The  cause  of  this  increase  is  not  simply  the  opening  of  new  mines, 
for  this  is  but  one  factor  in  the  work,  the  other  factor  being  the 
great  decrease  in  cost  of  transportation.  These  two  conditions  are 
iDterdependent,  since  the  lessening  in  the  cost  of  freight  could  not 
have  come  about  without  the  transport  of  enormous  tonnages.  In 
no  other  part  of  the  world  has  there  been  such  a  complete  system 
of  handling  material  worked  out  on  such  a  gigantic  scale;  the 
steam  shovels  in  the  mines,  the  railroads  to  the  ports,  the  mammoth 
docks  and  arrangements  for  loading  vessels  in  a  few  hours,  the 
special  fleet  of  ore  carriers,  the  improvement  of  the  locks,  the  un- 
loading machinery  at  lower  lake  ports,  and  the  storage  yards  and 
handling  apparatus  at  the  Eastern  furnaces,  each  one  of  these  is  a 
link  in  a  chain  of  specialized  machinery,  by  which  it  has  become 
possible  to  transport  ore  a  thousand  miles  and  make  pig-iron  for 
less  than  half  a  cent  a  pound. 

Table  XXII-J  shows  the  production  of  the  different  ranges  in 
1903,  and  gives  figures  for  comparison  with  the  other  large  pro- 
ducers. The  States  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  con- 
stituting the  Lake  Superior  region,  raised  26,573,000  tons  of  ore. 

TABLE  XXII-J. 
American  Ore  Supply  in  1903. 


Lako  Superior 

Ranges. 

Location. 

Date 
when 
opened. 

Output  ; 
tons. 

Fe. 
dried 
at 
212°F 

*• 

s. 

SiO2. 

CaCO3. 

H20. 

Mesabi  
Meuominee  — 
Marquette  
Uogebic  

\.E.Minn. 
N.W.Mich. 
N.W.Mich. 
N.W.Mich. 

1892 
1877 
1855 
1884 

13,452,812 
4,093.320 
.3,686  214 
3.422.341 

fil-fi4 
5tj-»2 
60-67 
58-62 

.03-.  08 
.01-.  75 
.02-.  15 
.04-.  08 

.01 
.01 
.02 
.01 

3-5 
3-6 
2-6 
3-7 

0.5 
1.0 
•  0.5 
0.3 

8-12 
5-10 
1-12 
10-12 

Vermilion  
Total 

N.  E.  Minn. 

1884 

1.918.584 
96  573  971 

61-67 

.04-.  15 

tr. 

3-5 

0.4 

1-6 

Other  States. 

Other  States. 

Alabama 

3684  960 

484  796 

Tennessee  

.  .  .      852,704 

Georgia                             .       ... 

443.452 

Virginia  and  West  Virginia  .  . 

.  .  .     801,161 

Other  States 

1  9^,150 

644  594 

New  York  

.  .  .      540,460 

Total 

.  35019,308 

The  only  competitor  is  the  Minette  district  of  Germany,  France, 
Belgium  and  Luxemburg,  which  mined  22,000,000  tons  in  the  same 
year. 


458  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

The  Marquette  ores  are  magnetites  and  hard  and  soft  hematites, 
and  are  rich  in  iron.  The  ores  from  the  Menominee  and  Gogebic 
ranges  in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  are  hematites,  and  are  very 
desirable  as  being  in  porous  lumps  and  easily  smelted.  The  Ver- 
milion ores  are  very  rich  hematites ;  the  softer  kinds  are  low  in  phos- 
phorus, while  the  deposits  that  furnish  the  massive  hard  lumps  gen- 
erally run  considerably  above  the  Bessemer  limit.  The  Mesabi  beds, 
for  the  most  part,  are  mined  with  a  steam  shovel,  as  large  areas  lie 
near  the  surface.  It  is  economical,  however,  to  first  loosen  the 
ground  by  explosives.  The  ores  are  usually  very  fine,  like  sand, 
and  in  some  cases  almost  pulverulent.  Different  mines  vary  in 
character,  some  ore  being  of  such  a  size  that  it  can  be  used  alone  in 
a  blast  furnace,  while  other  beds  are  so  fine  and  dusty  that  the 
average  furnace  manager  will  not  use  over  20  per  cent.  The  com- 
position of  the  ore,  not  only  in  the  Mesabi  districts  but  elsewhere, 
varies  considerably,  and  constant  vigilance  is  necessary  to  insure 
the  separation  of  the  "Bessemer"  from  the  "non-Bessemer,"  by 
which  terms  are  meant  those  portions  which  will  give  a  pig-iron 
running  below  0.10  per  cent,  in  phosphorus,  and  those  which  will 
give  an  iron  above  that  limit.  The  non-Bessemer  was  formerly 
more  or  less  of  a  drug  in  the  market,  but  the  development  of  the 
basic  open-hearth  furnace  has  furnished  an  outlet  for  this  off -grade 
iron. 

The  fine  condition  of  many  Mesabi  ores  prevents  their  being  em- 
ployed alone  in  the  blast  furnace,  and  it  is  usually  necessary  to  mix 
with  them  a  certain  proportion  of  the  "old  range"  ores.  This  ren- 
ders it  possible  for  the  old  mines  to  sell  their  product  at  a  higher 
price,  and  thereby  cover  their  greater  cost.  The  percentage  of 
Mesabi  ores  used  in  the  furnace  mixture  is  higher  than  formerly, 
from  two  causes :  first,  that  furnacemen  are  learning  how  to  use 
them,  and  are  becoming  accustomed  to  slips  and  scaffolds;  and 
second,  that  many  mines  recently  opened  give  a  product  of  much 
coarser  nature.  The  effect  is  seen  in  a  relatively  increasing  price 
for  these  ores.  The  "Mesabi  differential"  for  Bessemer  ores  was 
only  25  cents  in  1905,  while  it  was  $1.10  in  1902.  On  non-Bessemer 
ores  it  was  20  cents  in  1905,  against  63  cents  in  1902. 

In  regard  to  the  relative  amounts  of  the  two  kinds  of  ores  I  quote 
D.  E.  Woodbridge,  in  The  Iron  Age,  January  3,  1901 : 

"The  fancy  Bessemer  ores  of  the    older  ranges,  excepting  the 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


459 


Gogebic  and  new  Vermilion  fields,  are  practically  gone.  On  the 
Mesaba  the  greatest  share  of  desirable  Bessemers  is  included  in 
one  township.  The  Menominee  range  has  little  Bessemer  ore,  nearly 
all  coming  from  the  Aragon,  Loretto  and  Pewabic  mines.  On  the 


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460  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

Marquette  the  once  famous  Lake  Angeline  mines  are  fast  nearing 
'the  end  of  their  fine  Bessemer  ores,  and  there  remains  but  a  few 
years  more  of  their  production.  All  the  mines  of  the  Oliver  Com- 
pany on  that  range  are  now  classed  as  non-Bessemer,  and  the  Cleve- 
land Cliffs  are  light  in  their  Bessemer  production.  The  ore  bodies 
under  Lake  Angeline  are  not  furnishing  the  percentage  of  high- 
grade  ores  expected.  Explorations  on  the  range  are  showing  few 
Bessemer  deposits.  On  the  Gogebic  one  company  controls  four- 
fifths  of  the  deposits,  and  a  large  share  of  the  rest  is  off  the  market. 
Explorations  around  the  old  Comet  and  Puritan,  Federal  and  Jack- 
pot group  are  said  to  be  producing  good  results,  and  there  are  hopes 
of  some  tonnage  in  that  section.  On  the  Vermilion  the  hard  ore 
property  at  Tower  is  now  a  producer  of  non-Bessemer-  ores  exclu- 
sively. The  Chandler  in  a  few  years  will  be  exhausted.  The  new 
mines  of  the  Oliver  Company  are  large  properties,  but  have  no  effect 
on  the  general  situation,  as  the  owners  will  retain  their  ores  for 
their  own  use.  On  the  Mesaba  low-grade  non-Bessemers  are  much 
in  excess  of  its  fancy  ores.  There  are  large  deposits  of  lean  ores 
and  of  ores  high  in  phosphorus,  or  of  ores  so  fine  and  dusty  that 
they  are  discriminated  against;  but  of  high-grade  desirable  Besse- 
mers  the  discoveries  can  be  counted  quickly.  It  would  appear  that 
the  larger  deposits  of  the  range  have  been  found." 

Table  XXII-K  gives  a  list  of  the  important  mines  in  the  Lake 
region.  The  division  is  arbitrary,  embracing  only  those  mines 
which  have  produced  over  one  million  tons  in  their  lifetime  and 
which  turned  out  over  200,000  tons  during  1904.  This  classifica- 
tion omits  a  few  new  mines  which  produced  more  than  200,000  tons 
in  1 904,  and  which  may  take  first  rank  in  the  future,  but  which  had 
not  then  turned  out  one  million  tons. 

The  output  of  the  mines  in  this  list  amounted  to  fourteen  million 
tons  in  1904,  or  two-thirds  of  the  total  for  the  year.  During  the 
lifetime  of  the  Lake  Superior  field  these  mines  have  produced  56 
per  cent,  of  the  total,  so  that  the  chemical  composition  of  these  ores 
may  be  taken  as  representative  of  the  district  as  a  whole.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  list  there  are  several  mines  which  have  exceeded  the 
limit  of  one  million  tons,  but  which  are  shipping  less  than  two  hun- 
dred thousand  tons  per  year.  In  this  class  are  the  following,  the 
properties  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  being  marked 
with  a  star : 


.  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


461 


Marquette. — Cambria,  Champion,  Jackson,  Lillie,  *Negaunee, 
Republic,  Clark,  *Volunteer,  *Winthrop. 

Mesabi. — *  Auburn,  Franklin,  Sparta,  Sellers,  Spruce. 

Menominee. — Commonwealth,  Crystal  Falls,  Florence,  Hemlock, 
Penn  Iron. 

Gogebic. — Brotherton,  Gary,  Colby,  Iron  Belt,  Montreal,  New- 
port, Palms. 

There  are  other  mines  which  have  produced  over  one  million 
tons  in  the  past,  but  which  have  shipped  very  little  or  no  ore  in 
recent  years.  Following  is  a  list  of  these : 

Marquette. — New  York  (York). 

Mesabi — *01iver  (Mesabi  Mountain  and  Lone  Jack). 

Menominee. — Dunn,  Ludington. 

The  mines  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  have  been 
withdrawn  from  the  general  market.  This  has  raised  the  cost  of 
ore  to  outside  companies,  a  result  viewed  with  complacency  by  the 
dominant  interest. 

TABLE  XXII-L. 
Price  of  Lake  Superior  Ore  at  Lower  Lake  Ports. 


Old  Range  Ore. 

Mesabi  Ore. 

Bessemer. 
P=.045 

Non  Bessemer. 

Bessemer. 
P=.045 

Non  Bessemer. 

Price 

Fe 

Price 

Price 

Fe 

Price 

Price 

Fe 

Price 

Price 

Fe 

Price 

Year. 

per 
ton. 

guar- 
antee. 

per 
unit; 
cents. 

per 
ton. 

guar- 
antee. 

per 
unit; 
cents. 

per 
ton. 

guar- 
antee. 

per 
unit; 
cents. 

per 
ton. 

guar- 
antee. 

per 
unit; 
cents. 

1898.. 

2.75 

56.70 

4.89 

1.90 

54.56 

3.48 

2.00 

56.70 

3.53 

1.70 

56.00 

3.04 

1899.. 

2.95 

56.70 

5.20 

2.00 

54.56 

3.67 

2.15 

56.70 

3.79 

1.90 

56.00 

3.39 

1900.. 

5.50 

56.70 

9.70 

4.15 

54.56 

7.61 

4.65 

56.70 

8.20 

3.75 

56.00 

6.70 

1901.. 

4.25 

56.70 

7.50 

3.00 

54.56 

5.50 

2.70 

55.70 

4.76 

2.40 

56.00 

4.29 

1902.. 

4.25 

56.70 

7.50 

3.25 

52.80 

6.16 

3.15 

56.70 

5.56 

2.62 

52.80 

4.96 

1903.. 

4.50 

56.70 

7.94 

3.60 

52.80 

6.82 

4.00* 

56.70 

7.05 

3.20* 

52.80 

6.06 

1904.. 

3.75 

56.70 

5.73 

2.75 

52.80 

5.21 

3.00* 

56.70 

5.29 

2.65* 

52.80 

5.00 

1905.. 

3.75 

56.70 

6.61 

3.20 

52.80 

6.06 

3.50* 

56.70 

6.17 

3.00* 

53.00 

5.66 

*  The  price  of  Mesabi  ores  varies  not  only  according  to  the  composition  but  according- 
to  the  amount  of  fines,  this  being  determined  by  sieves. 

In  Table  XXII-L  are  given  the  prices  of  ore  delivered  at  lower 
lake  ports.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  1900  there  was  a  decided  advance, 
with  a  strong  reaction  during  the  next  year.  Since  then  the  effect 
of  the  great  industrial  combinations  and  of  the  general  activity  in 
the  iron  trade  has  increased  the  price  so  that  in  1903  the  cost  of 
ore  in  the  open  market  was  nearly  double  what  it  was  in  1898.  The 
almost  unlimited  demand,  even  in  face  of  rising  prices  and  the  ex- 


462  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

pectation  of  a  virtual  monopoly  of  existing  supplies  by  the  direct 
control  of  steel  companies,  has  resulted  in  extensive  prospecting 
and  in  the  establishment  of  very  high  prices  for  ore  lands.  In  many 
cases  silicious  ores  have  been  purchased  which  would  not  have 
been  considered  at  all  a  few  years  ago.  In  some  cases  these  silicious 
ores  are  used  in  admixture  with  purer  ores,  both  of  the  old  ranges 
and  of  the  Mesabi  district.  A  very  moderate  output  of  highly  sili- 
cious ores,  however,  will  satisfy  demands  of  this  character,  and  the 
cost  of  transportation  and  of  extra  fuel  will  work  against  the  use  of 
these  impure  deposits.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  develop  ex- 
tensive deposits  of  titaniferous  ores,  but  such  mineral  cannot  be 
regarded  as  marketable,  owing  to  the  difficulty  in  smelting. 

In  other  parts  of  the  world  iron  ore  is  sold  at  a  certain  price  per 
ton,  and  the  purchaser  runs  the  risk  of  variations  in  the  composi- 
tion. In  Lake  Superior  products  a  sliding  scale  is  used,  the  selling 
price  depending  on  the  iron  and  phosphorus.  Following  is  the 
clause  as  written  into  all  ore  contracts : 

"The  price  of  this  ore  is  named  and  accepted  on  the  expectation 

that  the  ore  will  average   per  cent,  in  metallic  iron  and 

one-thousandths  of  one  per  cent,  in  phosphorus,  dried  at 

212°  F.    Taking  this  as  a  standard  of  quality,  it  is  agreed  that  only 
a  total  average  variation  therefrom  of  more  than  one-half  of  one 
per  cent,  in  metallic  iron  (and  in  such  case  the  entire  average  varia- 
tion) shall  be  entitled  to  recognition  and  adjustment  by  increase 
or  abatement  in  price,  as  the  case  may  be,  at  the  rate  of  .......  cents 

per  unit  per  ton  for  metallic  iron.  And  in,  case  of  excess  of  phos- 
phorus over  and  above  the  agreed  quantity,  settlement  shall  be  made 
according  to  the  table  of  phosphorus  values  attached  hereto/' 

The  phosphorus  table  is  different  in  Bessemer  and  non-Bessemer 
ores.  In  Bessemer  ores  the  base  is  .045  per  cent.  For  a  lower  con- 
tent a  higher  price  is  paid,  and  for  a  higher  content  a  lower  price. 
The  scale  is  as  follows,  the  figures  representing  the  difference  in 
cents  on  one  ton  of  ore : 

.045=base.  .  .040=4J  cents  more. 

.050=44  cents  less.  .035=10J  cents  more. 

.055=10  J  cents  less.  .030=17}  cents  more. 

.060=17^  cents  less.  .025=254  cents  more. 

.065=254  cerits  less-  .020=35  cents  more. 

.070=35  cents  less. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


463 


In  some  cases  a  lower  base  may  be  specified,  while  with  non- 
Bessemer  ores  it  is  higher. 

The  freight  rates  on  the  lakes  vary.  A  vessel  may  be  chartered 
for  a  season  or  for  a  definite  amount  at  a  "contract  rate/'  or  the  ore 
may  be  shipped  on  the  best  bargain  that  can  be  made  at  the  mo- 
ment— what  is  known  as  a  "wild  rate/'  In  the  long  run  the  two 
come  out  about  the  same;  thus  in  the  ten  years  from  1890  to  1900 
the  average  contract  rate  from  the  head  of  the  lakes  was  90 J  cents 
per  ton  and  the  wild  rate  90  cents.  In  1887  the  wild  rates  were 
$2.23  and  the  contract  rates  $2.00,  but  in  1900  the  average  charter 
was  $1.25.  These  figures  are  for  the  full  journey  from  the  head  of 
the  lakes,  Duluth  or  Two  Harbors,  the  rate  being  lower  for  lesser 
distances;  for  instance,  the  average  contract  rate  from  Marquette 
for  the  last  ten  years  has  been  85  cents  and  for  Escanaba  67£  cents. 
A  certain  amount  is  shipped  all  the  way  by  rail,  but  this  constitutes 
only  2  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 

The  ores  of  the  Vermilion  range  are  shipped  from  Two  Harbors, 
the  rail  transportation  being  from  70  to  95  miles.  The  Mesabi 
deposits  send  their  product  by  railroad  to  Duluth  and  Two  Har- 
bors, the  distance  being  from  75  to  100  miles.  The  Menominee 
ores  are  all  shipped  from  Escanaba  and  Gladstone,  the  distance 
hauled  being  from  40  to  92  miles.  The  Gogebic  ores  are  mostly 

TABLE  XXII-M. 
Movement  of  Lake  Superior  Ore. 


1897 

1900 

1904 

Mesabi 

4280873 

7809535 

12156008 

1937013 

3  261  221 

3074,848 

Marquette  
Gogebic 

2,715.035 
2258236 

3,457,522 
2875295 

2.843.703 
2398287 

1  278  481 

1  655820 

1  282  513 

Iron  Ridge  

67480 

Total  

12469638 

19  059,393 

21,822,839 

Duluth  .. 

2376064 

3888986 

4,649  611 

Two  Harbors  

2,651  465 

4007294 

4,566542 

Escanaba  

2  302  121 

3436734 

3644267 

Superior 

531  825 

1  522  899 

4,166990 

Ashland  

2067637 

2,633,687 

2.288,400 

Marquette  

1945519 

2661  861 

1907301 

Gladstone. 

341  014 

418854 

553- 

All  Rail  

253993 

489,078 

596175 

Total 

12  469638 

19059393 

21822839 

464 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


465 


o 

I 

o 
o 
O 

X 

X 

*1 

— • 

^ 


X 

H 


466 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


467 


shipped  from  Ashland,  the  distance  being  from  40  to  52  miles. 
The  Marquette  mines  divide  their  shipments  between  Marquette  and 
Escanaba,  as  it  often  pays  to  make  a  slightly  longer  land  journey 
to  save 'a  great  distance  by  water,  and  this  is  especially  true  of 
material  going  to  Chicago. 


468 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


The  movement  of  ore  during  the  last  few  years  may  be  seen  in 
Table  XXII-M,  while  Fig.  XXII-C  shows  the  route  followed  to 
Chicago  and  the  Lake  Erie  ports.  The  map  in  Fig.  XXII-B  gives 
more  detail  concerning  the  Eastern  points  to  which  the  ore  is  car- 
ried, while  Figs.  XXII-D  and  XXII-E  give  views  of  the  mining 
districts. 

SEC.  XXIId.— Pittsburgh: 

The  great  center  of  the  iron  industry  of  the  United  States  is 
around  Pittsburgh  in  Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania,  a  map  of 
which  is  shown  in  Fig.  XXII-F.  This  county  produces  one-quarter 
of  all  the  iron  made'  in  the  country  and  hence  might  be  discussed 
separately.  But  from  an  economical  standpoint  we  must  embrace 
parts  of  three  States: 

Pennsylvania:  Allegheny,  Westmoreland  and  Fayette  counties 
and  the  Shenango  and  Beaver  valleys. 

Ohio:  The  Mahoning  Valley  and  Ohio  Eiver  counties. 

West  Virginia:  The  northern  point  between  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio,  comprising  Marshall  and  Ohio  and  Preston  counties. 

This  gives  a  rectangle  70  miles  north  and  south  and  80  miles  east 
and  west.  The  statistics  for  each  county  of  Pennsylvania  are  of 
record,  but  neither  Ohio  nor  West  Virginia  collects  such  informa- 
tion ;  we  do  have  the  total  production  of  pig-iron  and  steel  in  Ohio 
and  the  output  of  pig-iron  in  West  Virginia,  and  the  location  and 
number  of  converters  and  open-hearth  furnaces  and  their  produc- 
tive capacity  for  each  works,  while  I  am  in  possession  of  considerable 
private  information  as  to  the  output  of  certain  centers. 

Output  of  Pig-iron  and  Steel  in  the  Pittsburgh  District  in  1901. 


Pig  Iron. 

Steel. 

Allegheny  County 

3  685  665 

5  138  839 

Shenango  Vallev  

979  415 

'484  692 

Westmoreland,  Fayette,  etc..  .  . 
Mahoning  Vallev 

115,261 
1  404  857 

153,525 
•\ 

Southeastern  Ohio  

527  958 

1       Est. 

West  Virginia  

166  597 

J"  (1,540,000) 

Totals 

6  879  753 

7  317  056 

The  Shenango  Valley,  in  Northwestern  Pennsylvania,  made  over 
one  million  tons  of  pig-iron  in  1903,  but  two-thirds  was  shipped 
to  Pittsburgh  for  conversion.  The  Mahoning  Valley  makes  half 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


469 


TABLE  XXII-N. 
Production  of  Pig-Iron  and  Steel  in  Pennsylvania  in  1903. 


Comity. 

Rolled  Iron  &  Steel. 

Steel  Ingots. 

Pig  Iron. 

Tons. 

Per  cent, 
of  total. 

Tons. 

Per  cent, 
of  total. 

Tons. 

Per  cent, 
of  total. 

Allegheny 

4,860,903 
568,282 
466,951 
332,366 
322,585 
309,198 
257|743 
158,091 
131,895 
86,543 
85.043 
74,561 
51,974 

59,94 
7.01 
5.76 
4.10 
3.98 
3.81 
3.18 
1.95 
1.63 
1.07 
1.05 
0.92 
0.64 

5,530,520 
804,633 
439,662 
197,111 
372,475 
360.369 
188,125 
2,414 
65,939 

67.06 
9.76 
5.33 
2.39 
4.52 
4.37 
2.28 
0.03 
0.80 

4,291,671 
611,328 
337,587 
276,649 

52.46 
7.47 
4.13 
3.38 

Cambria  

Dauphin 

Montgomery 

Chester  

Lawrence.                 .  . 

457,979 
54,994 
254,549 
595,147 
386,872 
132,351 

5.60 
0.67 
3.11 
7.27 
4.73 
1.62 

\Vestmoreland 

Berks   

Mercer 

Lehigh  

Lebanon             

Philadelphia 

68,400 
107,522 

0.83 
1.30 

Northampton.  .  . 

213,274 

127,787 
441,464 

2.61 
1.56 
5.39 

Bedford  

Others. 

402,998 

4.96 

110,207 

1.33 

.Total  

8,109,133 

100.00 

8,247,377 

100.00 

8,181,652 

100.00 

of  all  the  pig-iron  made  in  Ohio  and  over  half  of  all  the  steel. 
Some  pig-iron  goes  to  Pittsburgh,  while  the  furnaces  of  Southeast- 
ern Ohio  ship  considerable  quantities  to  the  steel  plants  of  West 
Virginia.  In  any  other  part  of  the  world  districts  like  these  would 
stand  alone,  but  they  are  overshadowed  by  Allegheny  County  in 
Pennsylvania,  which  in  1903  produced  4,300,000  tons  of  pig-iron 
.and  5,500,000  tons  of  steel.  One-half  of  this  steel  is  made  in  acid 
converters  and  half  in  basic  open-hearth  furnaces. 

The  foundation  of  this  industry  lies  in  the  coal  fields  of  the  Con- 
nellsville  district,  in  the  counties  of  Westmoreland  and  Fayette  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  whole  district  including  this  section  is  ap- 
proximately 80  miles  square.  Throughout  this  area  the  conditions 
are  practically  uniform,  the  ore  supply  coming  by  water  from  Lake 
Superior  to  some  Lake  Erie  port,  and  thence  by  rail.  The  plants 
near  the  coal  must  haul  the  ore  farther,  while  the  plants  near  Lake 
Erie  have  a  longer  distance  to  bring  the  coke.  In  the  case  of  fin- 
ished products  the  difference  in  freight  is  trifling  on  shipments  to 
distant  points.  It  would  be  difficult  to  explain  the  reasons  for 
locating  each  works  at  the  particular  place  where  it  is  built.  In 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Pittsburgh,  about  every  piece  of  level 
ground  is  taken  that  lies  along  the  river  front.  The  country  is 
very  rugged  and  suitable  sites  for  large  steel  works  are  not  numer- 


470  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

cus.  In  many  parts  of  Europe  works  are  built  where  water  is  scarce, 
but  in  America  it  is  considered  essential  that  a  river  be  available, 
and  this  river  is  looked  upon  as  small  unless  it  is  as  large  as  the 
Ehine.  Pittsburgh  stands  at  the  junction  of  two  rivers,  and  both 
are  bordered  by  high  and  steep  hills,  so  that  the  iron  and  steel 
works  extend  in  long,  narrow  lines  along  both  banks  of  both  rivers* 

In  about  the  year  1884,  natural  gas  was  discovered  in  the  region 
around  Pittsburgh,  and  during  the  next  ten  years  this  district  en- 
joyed one  of  the  best  and  most  convenient  fuels  at  very  low  rates. 
Many  plants  are  using  it  to-day,  but  the  cost  is  much  higher  than 
formerly  and  the  supply  uncertain,  so  that  many  plants  in  the  city 
proper  have  been  forced  to  install  gas  producers,  but  natural  gas  is 
still  used  at  Homestead  and  Duquesne. 

The  advantages  of  this  fuel  are  not  confined  to  its  first  cost,  as  an 
open-hearth  furnace  using  it  is  radically  different  from  the  usual 
type.  The  gas  needs  no  regeneration  and  is  introduced  at  the  point 
where  the  port  opens  into  the  furnace,  so  that  both  chambers  are 
used  for  air.  There  is  no  leak  from  one  to  the  other ;  there  are  no 
ports  to  wear  out,  and  when  the  furnace  is  repaired  the  brickwork 
may  be  laid  in  the  most  rapid  manner,  without  any  attention  to 
making  joints  tight.  The  gas  contains  no  sulphur,  so  that  it  is 
easy  to  make  steel  low  in  this  element.  It  is  not  known  how  long 
the  gas  will  last.  New  wells  are  constantly  being  sunk  and  the 
supply  replenished  from  a  greater  distance,  but  the  time  seems  near 
when  the  amount  will  be  so  scanty  that  it  will  be  used  for  household 
purposes  only. 

It  is  around  Pittsburgh  that  the  methods  have  been  developed  in 
blast  furnaces  and  rolling  mills  which  have  become  known  as 
"American  practice,"  and  I  believe  it  is  but  the  truth  to  state  that 
these  standards  have  in  the  main  been  established  by  the  Carnegie 
Steel  Company.*  The  policy  of  the  Carnegie  management  for 
twenty  years  was  diametrically  opposed  to  the  policy  in  European 
works,  and  quite  different  from  what  is  possible  in  most  cases. 
Most  corporations  must  distribute  their  earnings  in  the  way  of 
dividends,  and  the  most  successful  management  is  the  one  that 
distributes  most;  but  where  there  are  few  stockholders  and  when 


*  The  system  of  casting  upon  trucks,  without  which  the  great  products  in  a  Bessemer 
plant  are  difficult  to  obtain,  as  well  as  other  features  of  Bessemer  construction,  were  in- 
augurated at  the  works  of  the  Maryland  Steel  Company,  at  Baltimore. 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  471 

tne  control  rests  in  a  man  with  a  definite  plan,  that  plan  can  be 
carried  out,  when  in  other  works  the  plan  might  be  conceived,  but 
could  not  be  accomplished. 

The  principle  at  Pittsburgh  was  to  destroy  anything  from  a  steam 
engine  to  a  steel  works  whenever  a  better  piece  of  apparatus  was  to 
be  had,  no  matter  whether  the  engine  or  the  works  was  new  or  old, 
and  the  definition  of  this  word  "better"  was  confined  to  the  ability  to 
get  out  a  greater  product.  Such  a  course  involved  the  expenditure 
of  enormous  sums  of  money,  it  involved  the  constant  return  of 
profits  into  the  business,  it  involved  mistakes,  but  it  produced  re- 
sults, and. the  economies  from  the  increased  output  soon  paid  for  the 
expenditure. 

There  is,  however,  a  lack  of  attention  to  minor  economies.  The 
saving  of  fuel  does  not  receive  its  share  of  attention,  and  while 
thousands  of  dollars  are  spent  to  dispense  with  the  labor  of  one  or 
two  men,  thousands  of  dollars  in  fuel  are  wasted.  In  Europe  the 
labor  is  wasted  and  the  fuel  saved.  There  is  a  partial  excuse  in 
both  cases.  In  Europe  fuel  is  costly  and  labor  cheap ;  in  Pittsburgh 
fuel  is  cheap  and  labor  costly.  When  a  mill  is  working  to  its 
ultimate  capacity,  it  takes  more  than  one  man  to  fill  one  job,  be- 
cause continuous  work  is  impossible.  Consequently,  extra  hands 
must  be  provided  that  would  be  superfluous  in  foreign  work.  A 
machine  that  saves  the  work  of  "one  man"  really  saves  more  than 
one  man,  and  in  Pittsburgh  this  will  represent  from  five  to 
ten  or  even  twenty  times  as  much  as  in  Silesia  or  Lothringen.  On 
the  contrary,  fuel  is  cheap  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  better 
to  waste  money  than  to  have  complicated  apparatus  to  get  out  of 
order. 

This  idea  has  led  to  a  sameness  in  the  methods  of  manufacture  in 
America,  rendered  quite  natural  by  the  fact  that  the  metallurgical 
conditions  are  uniform  over  a  large  area.  Throughout  the  greater 
part  of  America,  the  use  of  Lake  Superior  ores  is  universal,  these 
ores  being  of  two  kinds:  (1)  those  that  give  a  pig-iron  with  not 
over  0.10  per  cent,  of  phosphorus;  (2)  those  that  give  a  pig-iron 
ranging  from  0.10  to  0.25  in  phosphorus.  The  last,  the  "non-Bes- 
semer," is  sold  at  a  lower  price,  and  while  all  of  the  Bessemer  steel 
is  made  in  acid  converters,  a  great  part  of  the  open-hearth  product 
is  made  on  the  basic  hearth,  the  non-Bessemer  pig-iron  being  used 
for  this  purpose.  The  low  content  of  phosphorus  takes  away  all 


472 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


difficulties  as  far  as  this  element  is  concerned,  and  the  metallurgical 
problems  are  few ;  the  coke  is  good,  the  ores  rich  and  pure,  the  basic 
Bessemer  process  out  of  the  question,  and  the  basic  open-hearth 
furnace  is  charged  with  a  mixture  almost  fit  for  an  acid  hearth.  It 
is  therefore  easier  in  America  than  in  Europe  to  make  steel  to  rigid 
specifications,  this  being  proven  by  the  fact  that  foreign  metallur- 
gists refuse  to  bid  on  contracts  which  are  accepted  as  standard  in 
America. 

The  Pittsburgh  district  mines  no  ore,  all  this  coming  from  the 
Great  Lakes.  During  a  considerable  portion  of  the  year  navigation 
is  closed  by  ice,  and  as  no  ore  arrives  between  the  first  of  Decem- 
ber and  the  next  May,  consequently,  it  is  necessary  to  have  an 
enormous  storage  yard.  The  coke  arrives  by  rail,  and  very  little  is 


TABLE  XXII-0. 

Plants  in  the  Pittsburgh  District  having  Bessemer  Converters  or  at 
least  Six  Open-Hearth  Furnaces.- 


Works. 

Location. 

Bessemer 
Convert- 
ers and 
Capacity. 

Open 
Hearth 
Furnaces 
and 
Capacity. 

No.  of 
Blast 
Fur- 
naces. 

Allegheny  County,  Pa.  : 
*  Duquesne 

Cochran 

2-10 

12-50 

4 

*  Edgar"  Thomson 

4  15 

9 

Munhall 

2-12 

(       1-20 
<     19-40 

*  Monongahela 

McKeesport 

2-8 

|     29-45 

•     2 

*  Shoenberger  

Pittsburgh  

2-7 

3-35 

2 

*  Twenty-sixth  Street 

Pittsburgh 

2-5 

*St.  Glair  

Clairton  

8-50 

3 

American  (Jones  &   Laugh- 
lin) 

Pittsburgh  

2-10 

f       1-25 
1       6-40 

4 

Carbon  Steel  Co  

Pittsburgh. 

8-50 

Black  Diamond  (Parks)  

Pittsburgh  

I       2-18 
•1       5-30 

Westmoreland  County,  Pa.  : 
*  Vandergrif  t  

Vandergrift  Pa 

I       1-50 
6-30 

Shenango  Valley,  Pa.  : 
*  New  Castle  

Newcastle 

2-8 

4 

*  Sharon  W^orks      .  . 

Sharon 

6-30 

2 

*  Sharon  Steel  Co  

Sharon  

13-50 

1 

Mahoning  Valley,  Ohio  : 
*Ohio 

Youn  gsto  wn 

2  10 

3 

Brown,  Bonnell  

Youngs  town 

2-6 

Ohio  River  counties,  Ohio  : 
*  Bellaire 

Bellaire 

2-10 

2 

*  Mingo  

Mingo  Junction 

2-10 

3 

West  Virginia: 
*  Riverside... 

Benwood. 

2-5 

1 

Wheeling  

Benwood 

2  6 

*  Those  marked  with  star  belong  to  the  United  States  Steel  Co. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


473 


kept  on  hand.  Connellsville  coke  is  higher  in  ash  than  that  of 
Durham,  but  is  quite  as  good  in  physical  structure,  and  superior 
to  any  coke  on  the  Continent.  The  coal  contains  from  30  to  35  per 
cent,  of  volatile  matter.  The  beehive  oven  is  used  almost  universally 
throughout  the  region,  and  it  is  the  rule  that  the  coke  is  made  at 
the  mine,  but  within  the  last  few  years  a  number  of  by-product 
ovens  have  been  erected  at  furnace  plants.  The  coke  from  Con- 
nellsville is  used  not  only  near  home,  but  is  sent  in  great  quantities 
to  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Maryland,  northward  to 
Buffalo  and  Canada  and  westward  to  Chicago  and  Duluth. 

Tables  XXII-0  and  XXII-P  show  the  distribution  of  works  in 
the  Pittsburgh  district,  while  Fig.  XXII-G  illustrates  the  Edgar 
Thomson  Bessemer  plant  at  Braddock. 

TABLE  XXII-P. 
Steel  Works  and  Mills  in  the  Pittsburgh  District. 


OQ 

,    *b 

£ 

J5 

. 

'eJ'C 

"3 

3 

ll 

|| 

1-S.t 
£•£•=5 

f 
g 

a 

to 
A 

"S 

ll 

A 
1 

5*5 

0>  O 

0c3 

X    • 

®l 

» 

3 

4 

gw* 

&* 

5* 

0° 

^ 

Bessemer  converters  (see  Table  XXII-O) 

16 

2 

i 

4 

4 

30 

Open  hearth  furnaces  : 
In  large  works  (see  Table  XXII-O) 

95 

6 

19 

120 

17 

6 

23 

In  crucible  plants  (see  also  "Black  Dia- 

mond "  Part  I) 

6 

1 

7 

9 

5 

14 

127 

26 

164 

3 

3 

17 

Total  number  of  plants  having  steel  works 
or  rolling  mills  

63 

24 

28 

13 

12 

12 

152 

Blast  furnaces  : 

In  large  works  (see  Table  XXII-O)  
In  small  works           

24 
10 

""3"" 

7 
12 

3 
12 

5 
3 

1 
2 

40 
42 

Total  blast  furnaces.  .  . 

34 

3 

19 

15 

3 

82 

SEC.  XXIIe.— Chicago: 

The  district  of  Chicago  includes  the  plant  at  Joliet,  111.,  and  the 
rolling  mills  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.  The  metallurgical  conditions  here 
are  the  same  as  in  Pittsburgh.  The  coke  is  brought  by  rail  from 
Connellsville  or  from  West  Virginia,  the  distance  ranging  from  525 
to  625  miles.  The  strong  point  of  the  situation  is  the  short  distance 
through  which  the  ore  is  brought,  and  the  haul  is  entirely  by  lake 


474 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


vessels,  this  being  cheaper  than  ordinary  ocean  transportation  owing 
to  the  special  vessels  used.  The  blast  furnaces  at  South  Chicago 
are  on  the  water  front,  the  vessels  being  unloaded  directly  into  the 
stockyard. 

The  subsidiary  fuel  comes  from  different  sources.  The  gas  coals 
of  Central  Illinois  contain  as  high  as  45  per  cent,  of  volatile  matter 
and  are  used  for  heating  furnaces,  but  cannot  be  used  in  open-hearth 
work  on  account  of  the  high  sulphur.  For  this  reason  the  melting 
furnaces  use  the  gas  coal  of  Pittsburgh,  West  Virginia  and  the 
Big  Muddy  field  of  Southern  Illinois.  Oil  has  been  used  in  the  past, 
the  neighboring  refineries,  working  on  Ohio  and  Indiana  oils,  sup- 
plying residuum  at  a  price  which  has  been  attractive. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


475 


Chicago  is  one  of  the  greatest  railroad  centers  of  the  world,  and 
the  manufacture  of  rails  has  been  the  natural  direction  of  develop- 


^t,  Intermediate  crane ;  6,  Casting  crane ;  c,  Converter ;  d,  e,  Elevated  track  from  receiver ; 

/,  Ladle  crane ;  g,  Operating  stand  for  casting  crane ;  h,  To  stripper ;  i,  Slag  track  : 
k,  Casting  track  ;  I,  Casting  platform ;  m,  Operating  casting  crane ;  n,  Operating  converter 

FIG.  XXII-H.— BESSEMER  PLANT  AT  SOUTH  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

ment,  one  of  the  greatest  of  American  rail  mills  being  in  operation 
here.  By  virtue  of  the  tributary  railroad  systems  the  Chicago  mar- 
ket has  always  had  a  surplus  of  scrap  for  disposal,  and  this  fact 
influenced  the  development  of  an  extensive  open-hearth  plant,  which 


476 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  477 

has  been  erected  within  a  few  years.  The  plant  includes  a  slab  mill, 
the  plates  being  rolled  from  slabs.  Melted  iron  is  used  to  a  great 
extent  in  the  open-hearth  plant. 

The  industry  of  this  section  is  concentrated  in  the  plants  of  the 
Illinois  Steel  Company.  The  plant  at  South  Chicago  embraces  ten 
blast  furnaces  and  a  Bessemer  plant  which  feeds  a  rail  mill.  The 
converting  department  is  shown  in  Fig.  XXII-H  and  the  rail  mill 
in  Fig.  XXII-I.  The  open-hearth  and  plate  mill  plant  have  already 
been  mentioned.  The  rolling  mill  also  turns  out  a  certain  propor- 
tion of  axle  billets  and  general  merchant  billets,  the  latter  being 
sent  to  the  Bay  View  works  at  Milwaukee  for  finishing  into  splice 
plates,  small  structural  shapes  and  miscellaneous  merchant  bar. 
The  defective  rails  are  also  sent  from  Chicago  to  Milwaukee  to  be 
rerolled  into  light  rails.  At  Joliet,  about  40  miles  away,  there  is  a 
Bessemer  plant,  fed  partly  by  pig-iron  used  directly  and  partly  by 
iron  brought  from  furnaces  at  the  North  and  Union  Works  at 
Chicago,  which  is  remelted  in  cupolas.  The  mills  at  Joliet  roll 
splice  bars,  skelp,  wire  rod  and  a  large  amount  of  sheet  bar,  and 
also  send  billets  to  the  Bay  View  Works  at  Milwaukee. 

SEC.  XXIIf.— Alabama: 

Note :  Most  of  the  facts  herein  set  forth  are  derived  from  a  comprehensive  pamphlet 
"Iron  Making  in  Alabama,"  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Philips. 

The  third  district  in  output  of  pig-iron  is  the  northern  central 
part  of  Alabama,  with  Birmingham  as  its  representative,  the  mines 
of  the  Bed  Mountain  group  contributing  half  the  ore  production 
of  the  State.  Nowhere  else  in  America  is  there  a  great  producing 
district  where  ore  and  coal  are  side  by  side.  The  problem  in  most 
other  districts  is  the  smelting  of  good  ore  with  good  fuel  and  the 
making  of  acid  Bessemer  steel.  In  Alabama  the  conditions  are 
more  difficult,  and  resemble  those  of  some  metallurgical  centers  of 
the  Continent.  The  ore  is  of  low  grade,  the  limonites  being  better 
than  the  hematites  and  the  richer  hematites  practically  exhausted. 
A  great  deal  of  the  coke  is  made  from  coal  that  has  been  washed  in 
order  to  lower  the  ash  and  sulphur.  The  phosphorus  in  the  ores 
is  not  high  enough  to  render  possible  the  basic  Bessemer  process, 
and  it  is  rather  high  for  the  basic  open-hearth  furnace.  This  does 
not  mean  that  steel  cannot  be  made  in  Alabama;  it  merely  means 
that  the  cost  of  conversion  will  be  greater  in  the  long  run  than  in 
more  favored  districts,  a  fact  which  has  not  been  considered  by  some 
investors  and  metallurgists. 


478  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

The  iron  industry  of  Alabama  has  suffered  from  the  extravagant 
statements  of  promoters,  and  it  may  be  well  to  quote  from  W.  B. 
Phillips,  who  has  done  so  much  to  forward  the  interests  of  the 
State,  but  who  has  no  praise  for  those  who  have  brought  the  district 
into  ridicule.  I  quote  this  friendly  authority  to  show  that  what  is 
here  written  is  not  put  down  in  malice:  "We  may  keep  the  great 
outcrops  of  ore  for  a  sort  of  show-place  and  continue  to  publish 
photographs  showing  15,  20  and  25  feet  of  ore  as  evidence  of  the 
prodigality  of  nature.  But  there  is  not  a  single  place  on  Eed  Moun- 
tain, from  Irondale  to  Eaymond,  where  even  12  feet  of  ore  is  mined, 
and  the  huge  seams  taken  as  a  whole  are  worthless.  It  is  all  very 
well  to  take  visitors  to  some  great  cut  in  the  seam,  and  ask  them 
what  they  think  of  that  for  ore.  What  they  will  think  depends 
entirely  upon  how  much  they  know  about  the  ore."* 

The  ores  used  in  Alabama  are  of  three  kinds : 

Brown  ore=Limonite. 

Soft  ore=Hematite,  carrying  about  1  per  cent,  of  lime. 

Hard  ore— Hematite,  self-fluxing. 

The  composition  of  each  varies  very  much,  and  sometimes  there 
are  small  seams  of  ore  running  fairly  low  in  phosphorus,  but  at  no 
time  has  any  considerable  amount  been  located  which  would  justify 
the  hope  of  making  Bessemer  iron  on  a  large  scale.  Phillips  states 
that  the  general  run  of  ore  as  it  is  smelted  will  give  an  iron  con- 
taining 0.20  to  0.80  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  but  in  another  place 
(p.  167)  he  states  that  no  furnace  in  the  State  is  warranted  in 
guaranteeing  under  0.75  per  cent,  in  the  pig-iron. 


BROWN  ORE. 

The  brown  ore  or  limonite  is  the  best  ore  in  the  State  and  more 
is  being  mined  every  year,  but  a  brown  ore  bank  is  a  very  uncertain 
proposition;  it  may  yield  good  material  for  a  number  of  years,  or 
it  may  be  exhausted  in  a  comparatively  short  time.  Brown  ore  is  a 
mixture  of  lumps  of  ore  with  a  more  or  less  tenacious  clay,  and  a 
thorough  washing  is  necessary.  The  average  composition  at  the 
stockhouse  is  as  follows,  it  being  assumed  that  all  hygroscopic  wa- 
ter is  expelled : 

*  Geological  Survey  of  Alabama,  1898,  p.  277. 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  479 

Fe 51.00 

SiO, 9.00 

AlaQ8 3.75 

CaO....  0.75 

P 0.40 

S 0.10 

SOFT  ORE      (  HEMATITE  ) . 

The  so-called  soft  ore  of  Birmingham  is  the  result  of  ages  of 
atmospheric  influence  upon  a  deposit  of  hard  calcareous  hematite. 
The  disintegrating  action  has  not  only  softened  the  mass,  but  the 
percolating  water  has  removed  the  lime.,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the 
percentage  of  iron  is  higher  in  this  soft  ore  than  in  the  underlying 
hard  and  limey  deposit  on  the  dip.  The  extent  of  this  decomposed 
layer  varies  on  the  dip,  in  some  places  being  300  feet,  while  in 
other  places  the  hard  ore  appears  on  the  surface.  When  the  over- 
burden is  stripped  off,  there  is  found  a  seam  of  ore,  quite  soft,  of  a 
deep  red  or  purple  color,  the  so-called  "gouge."  It  may  be  only  a 
few  inches  thick  and  may  run  up  to  two  or  even  three  feet.  Un- 
der this  comes  the  solid  ore,  diminishing  in  iron  as  the  depth  in- 
creases. The  best  quality  of  "gouge"  will  carry  52  per  cent,  of 
iron,  while  ten  feet  down  the  limit  of  good  ore  is  reached.  Includ- 
ing this  "gouge"  it  is  found  that  the  first  ten  feet  of  the  seam  will 
average  about  47  per  cent,  in  iron,  while  the  second  ten  feet  will 
run  about  42  per  cent.  In  former  times  the  rule  was  to  send  to  the 
furnace  "anything  that  was  red,"  but  operations  are  now  limited  to 
the  upper  ten  feet.  An  average  of  stockhouse  samples  shows  as 
follows : 

SOFT    RED   ORB. 

Wet.  Dry. 

Fe   47.24  50.80 

Si02 17.20  18.50 

A120, 3.35  3.60 

CaO 1.12  1.20 

Water   7.00 

HARD  RED  ORE. 

The  relation  of  the  deposits  of  soft  and  hard  ores  is  shown  by 
Fig.  XXII-J,  which  is  copied  from  Dr.  Phillips.  Sometimes  the 
hard  ore  reaches  to  the  surface,  and  sometimes  both  soft  and  hard 
ores  of  the  good  variety  are  lacking,  but  usually  the  hard  good  ore 
is  found,  reaching  to  a  great  depth.  Not  many  years  ago  the  soft 


480 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


ore  was  the  only  kind  used,  but  the  supply  will  be  exhausted  in  a 
short  time  and  furnaces  are  carrying  more  and  more  hard  ore,  some 


FIG.  XXII-J. — ORE  DEPOSIT  OF  BIRMINGHAM,  ALA.; 
VERTICAL  SECTION- 

plants  using  it  almost  alone,  and  there  is  a  greater  proportion  of 
limonite  (brown  ore). 

This  hard  ore  follows  the  rules  that  hold  for  soft  ore,  that  the 
content  of  iron  decreases  toward  the  dip,  but  this  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  uniformity  of  the  ore  at  right  angles  to  the  dip.  The 
hard  ore  contains  a  considerable  proportion  of  lime,  the  relative 
amounts  of  other  substances  being  correspondingly  decreased.  A 
general  average  is  a£  follows : 

HARD   ORE. 

Fe 37.00 

SiOa    13.44 

CaO   16.20 

A12O8 3.18 

P 0.37 

S 0.07 

COa 12.24 

Water  0.50 

These  figures  show  that  the  ore  is  self-fluxing.  This  is  not  true 
of  every  part  of  the  bed,  for  some  parts  give  too  much  silica  and 
some  too  much  lime,  but  the  general  fact  places  in  a  different  light 
the  low  content  of  iron.  Dolomite  is  used  quite  generally  in  Bir- 
mingham furnaces,  the  average  composition  being  as  follows: 

BIRMINGHAM    DOLOMITE. 

Silica 1.50  to  2.00 

Oxide  of  Iron  and  alumina 1.00 

Carbonate  of  lime 54.00 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 43.00 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  481 

It  is  rare  to  find  dolomite  thus  used,  but  the  results  in  Alabama 
seem  to  show  that  magnesia  will  remove  the  sulphur  as  successfully 
as  lime. 

COAL  AND  COKE. 

The  principal  coal  deposit  in  Alabama  is  known  as  the  Warrior 
field,  which  raises  85  per  cent,  of  the  output  of  the  State,  the  chief 
centers  being  in  the  counties  of  Jefferson,  Walker  and  Tuscaloosa. 
Most  of  the  coal  will  give  a  fair  coke,  but  it  is  necessary  to  wash 
it  to  remove  both  sulphur  and  ash.  There  was  a  time  when  fur- 
nacemen  talked  of  a  fuel  ratio  of  ton  per  ton,  but  that  day  has 
gone  by,  and  it  is  now  considered  good  work  if  a  ton  of  pig  is  made 
with  1.3  tons  of  coke,  while  the  average  is  higher. 

PIG-IRON. 

The  pig-iron  of  Alabama  has  been  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try and  much  of  it  abroad.  There  is  a  limited  demand  in  the  State, 
but  quite  a  market  in  Northern  cities,  as,  for  instance,  Cincinnati, 
and  a  great  deal  is  sent  by  rail  and  water  to  Philadelphia,  New 
York  and  other  seaboard  points  for  foundry  purposes.  Some  is 
carried  into  the  iron  districts  of  Pennsylvania  for  puddling.  The 
freight  rates  are  low,  but  the  distances  are  great.  The  cost  of  foun- 
dry iron  in  Alabama  is  usually  placed  at  from  seven  to  eight  dollars 
per  ton,  and  the  freight  to  Northern  points  is  four  dollars  and  even 
more.  The  natural  answer  to  this  condition  is  to  manufacture  the 
iron  on  the  spot  into  finished  products,  and  the  making  of  steel  is 
the  most  attractive  field. 

TABLE  XXII-Q. 
Production  of  Pig-iron  in  Alabama. 

Year.  Long  tons. 

1875 22,418 

1880 68,925 

1885 203,069 

1890 816,911 

1895 854,667 

1896 922,170 

1897 947,831 

1898 1,033,676 

1899 1,083,905 

1900 1,184,337 

1901 1,225,212 

1902 1,472,211 

.1903 1,561,398 

1904...  1,453,513 


482  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

STEEL. 

During  the  last  few  years  great  progress  has  been  made  in  the 
manufacture  of  steel  in  Alabama.  At  first  there  was  much  doubt 
as  to  whether  it  could  be  successfully  made,  and  enthusiastic  articles 
were  written  describing  the  first  tap  of  steel,  with  figures  showing 
the  percentage  of  carbon,  and  phosphorus,  and  sulphur,  and  every- 
thing else,  with  many  more  figures  about  the  ultimate  strength  and 
elastic  limit.  It  is  not  alone  in  Alabama  that  this  nonsense  is  per- 
petrated, for  leading  technical  journals  gravely  copy  figures  show- 
ing the  physical  results  on  a  piece  of  steel  made  in  some  new  dis- 
trict, as  if  the  information  were  of  importance.  Nothing  can  be  of 
less  moment. 

If  iron  ore  can  be  found,  and  fuel  brought  to  it,  steel  can  be 
made;  and  by  proper  attention  it  can  be  made  equal  to  the  best; 
and  by  proper  treatment  it  can  be  worked  into  a  bar,  and  that  bar 
will  give  a  definite  tensile  strength,  elastic  limit,  elongation  and 
reduction  of  area,  depending  on  the  composition  of  the  metal  and 
the  rolling  conditions,  without  any  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  ore 
or  whether  it  was  mined  in  Alabama  or  Japan.  The  important 
point  is  the  cost  of  the  finished  material,  and  this  can  usually  be 
estimated  just  as  well  before  a  pound  of  steel  is  made  as  it  can 
during  the  first  few  weeks  or  months  of  working.  It  is  necessary 
to  know  the  general  character  and  location  of  the  ore,  and  the  qual- 
ity and  location  of  the  coal,  and  some  other  general  conditions,  in 
order  to  determine  the  probable  cost  of  pig-iron.  It  is  necessary 
to  know  whether  the  conditions  are  uniform,  and  -whether  the  sul- 
phur and  phosphorus  vary  very  much,  in  order  to  know  whether  the 
practice  can  be  reduced  to  the  most  economical  basis.  Knowing  these 
things,  it  is  possible  to  state  whether  steel  can  be  made  commer- 
cially and  along  what  lines  the  best  financial  results  will  be  ob- 
tained. Following  this  the  operation  must  be  conducted  by  intelli- 
gent metallurgists  and  by  honest  managers.  Unfortunately,  Ala- 
bama has  lacked  these  essentials  in  some  notable  instances,  but 
there  has  been  continual  progress,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  steel 
industry  of  the  State  has  now  acquired  a  secure  footing.  The  only 
important  works  is  at  Ensley,  where  the  duplex  process  is  success- 
fully operated.  No  statistics  are  made  public  concerning  the  out- 
put of  steel,  either  at  this  works  or  in  the  State. 


THE  UNITED  STATES.    '  483 

One  of  the  great  drawbacks  in  the  South  is  the  labor  question. 
Owing  partly  to  the  climate  and  partly  to  the  absence  of  a  white 
population  trained  to  industrial  pursuits,  it  is  necessary  to  depend 
upon  negroes,  and  they  have  had  no  education  in  this  line  of  work. 
The  greater  part  of  those  in  the  Southern  States  are  entirely  im- 
provident, and  many  will  work  only  long  enough  to  get  a  little  cash. 
A  summary  discharge  has  no  terrors,  as  living  is  cheap  and  their 
wants  few.  I  was  told  by  one  of  the  furnace  managers  in  the  South 
that  he  has  an  average  of  three  names  on  his  payroll  every  year  for 
each  job.  The  two  idle  men  were  spending  most  of  their  money 
for  liquor  and  in  gambling  games,  while  a  certain  proportion  never 
worked,  but  devoted  their  time  to  politics,  and  made  speeches  on  the 
equality  of  colored  men  and  their  right  to  occupy  the  highest  posi- 
tions of  the  land. 

SEC.  XXIIg. — Johnstown: 

The  western  central  part  of  Pennsylvania  is  usually  considered  a 
district  by  itself,  the  statistics  including  the  output  of  the  counties 
of  Cambria,  Jefferson,  Armstrong,  Westmoreland  and  Fayette.  The 
last  two  have  already  been  considered  as  part  of  the  Pittsburgh  dis- 
trict, while  Jefferson  and  Armstrong  are  of  little  importance.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  well  to  consider  Cambria  County  by  itself,  since 
the  plant  of  the  Cambria  Steel  Company,  at  Johnstown,  is  the  pre- 
dominant works  in  this  part  of  the  State.  The  district  produces 
no  ore  and  the  supply  is  brought  from  Lake  Superior,  where  the 
company  owns  extensive  mines  in  the  Marquette,  Menominee  and 
Mesabi  districts.  The  coke  comes  partly  from  Connellsville  and 
partly  from  a  new  installation  of  by-product  ovens  which  runs  on 
the  leaner  coals  drawn  from  mines  within  the  limits  of  the  works. 

The  plant  has  four  converters  and  fifteen  50-ton  furnaces.  It 
not  only  makes  a  large  tonnage  of  standard  rails,  but  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  beam  and  structural  work,  and  has  large  special 
shops,  called  the  Gautier  Department,  wherein  special  steels  are 
worked  into  springs,  forks  and  a  thousand  similar  products. 

SEC.  XXIIh.—Steelton: 

Eanking  fifth  among  the  pig-iron  and  steel-producing  districts  of 
the  United  States  is  the  district  of  Dauphin  and  Lebanon  counties, 
in  Pennsylvania.  More  than  half  of  all  the  pig-iron  is  made  in  the 
furnaces  of  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  and  most  of  the 
steel  at  its  plant  at  Steelton,  near  Harrisburg. 


484  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

The  feature  of  this  district  is  the  deposit  of  ore  at  Cornwall, 
near  Lebanon.  The  hills  in  which  the  ore  occurs  were  held  in  pri- 
vate hands  from  1732  down  to  1894;  but  in  that  year  the  Lacka- 
wanna  Iron  and  Steel  Company  acquired  a  one-third  interest  and 
in  1901  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  bought  a  still  larger 
share.  This  mine  has  been  worked  since  1740,  and  up  to  the  end 
of  1904  had  produced  18,000,000  tons  of  ore,  which  was  more  than 
had  been  obtained  from  any  other  one  mine  in  the  United  States, 
and  up  to  1893  it  was  the  largest  single  producer.  The  Port  Henry 
mines  in  New  York  have  raised  two-thirds  as  much,  having  been 
operated  since  1804.  The  .present  rate  of  production  at  Cornwall 
is  750,000  tons  per  year,  and  there  is  no  other  mine  north  of  Ala- 
bama and  east  of  Michigan  which  raised  as  much  as  110,000  tons 
in  1903.  The  ore  is  a  magnetite,  low  in  phosphorus,  but  intimately 
mixed  with  clayey  matter,  and  the  deposit  is  permeated  by  streaks 
of  copper-bearing  sulphides.  Some  streaks  can  be  separated,  but 
there  is  such  a  mixing  of  the.  minerals  that  the  ore  as  mined  con- 
tains a  considerable  quantity  of  both  of  these  elements.  The  cop- 
per varies,  but  the  pig-iron  from  selected  ore  will  contain  about 
0.60  per  cent,  of  copper,  while  the  run  of  the  mine  will  give  a  some- 
what higher  proportion. 

The  sulphur  will  run  from  2  to  2.50  per  cent.,  and  roasting  is 
always  practiced,  about  half  the  sulphur  being  removed  in  this  way. 
The  run  of  the  mine  contains  from  40  to  42  per  cent,  of  iron  and  20 
per  cent,  of  silica,  with  a  small  proportion  of  lime  and  magnesia. 
The  roasted  ore  contains  from  1  to  1.25  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  and 
40  per  cent,  of  iron,  so  that  in  order  to  make  100  pounds  of  pig- 
iron,  the  ore  will  carry  from  2.5  to  3  pounds  of  sulphur  into  the 
furnace.  There  will  also  be  needed  about  1.5  tons  of  coke  carrying 
1  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  or  1.5  pounds  per  100  pounds  of  iron,  and 
there  will,  therefore,  be  from  4  to  4.5  pounds  of  sulphur  added 
per  100  pounds  of  iron.  In  ordinary  blast-furnace  practice,  where 
the  ore  has  no  sulphur  and  the  fuel  ratio  is  one  to  one,  the  total 
sulphur  per  100  pounds  of  iron  will  be  1  pound,  so  that  in  using 
Cornwall  ore  the  sulphur  in  the  burden  is  from  four  to  five  times 
as  much  as  in  ordinary  practice. 

It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  run  the  Cornwall  furnaces  extremely 
hot,  in  order  to  make  good  iron,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  iron  is 
high  in  silicon,  usually  containing  over  2  per  cent,  and  frequently 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  485 

from  3  to  4  per  cent.  For  thirty  years  this  iron  has  been 
used  in  making  Bessemer  steel  at  Steelton,  "usually  forming  about 
one-third  of  the  charge,  but  sometimes  it  has  been  converted  alone. 
It  has  also  been  used  by  the  Lackawanna  Company  at  their  Scran- 
ton  works  for  the  manufacture  of  rails.  Quite  a  large  amount  of 
iron  is  sold  to  makers  of  steel  castings  and  for  use  in  acid  open- 
hearth  furnaces,  because  the  phosphorus  in  the  pig-iron  is  below 
.04  per  cent. 

There  are  several  blast  furnaces  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Cornwall 
banks,  some  owned  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  some  by 
private  individuals,  and  some  by  the  Lackawanna  Company,  but  the 
only  large  steel  works  in  the  district  is  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany at  Steelton.  This  company  was  not  the  first  to  produce  Bes- 
semer steel  in  this  country,  but  it  was  the  first  to  make  it  regularly 
on  a  commercial  scale,  the  Bessemer  plant  being  built  in  1868.  Dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  this  company  has  expanded  in  several 
directions :  • 

(1)  By  building  a  rail  mill  and  shipyard  at  Sparrow's  Point, 
near  Baltimore,  known  as  the  Maryland  Steel  Company. 

(2)  By  making  a  specialty  of  frogs,  switches  and  general  rail- 
way equipment,  the  plant  at  Steelton  being  the  largest  in  the  coun- 
try. 

(3)  By  enlarging  its  open-hearth  departments  for  making  spe- 
cial steels. 

(4)  By  the  development  of  a  bridge  shop  which  has  become 
widely  known  for  some  very  large  operations,  among  which  may  be 
mentioned  the  following: 

Niagara  steel  arch,  550  feet  span,  double-track  railroad. 

Duluth  drawbridge,  500  feet  draw  span. 

Gotkeik  viaduct  in  Burmah,  320  feet  high,  2280  feet  long. 

The  new  East  River  Suspension  Bridge,  1700  feet  span. 

Between  Steelton  and  Harrisburg  are  the  plate  rolling  mills  of 
the  Central  Iron  and  Steel  Company.  Fig.  XXII-K  shows  the  Bes- 
semer plant  at  Steelton,  and  Fig.  XXII-L  a  cross-section  of  the 
open-hearth  department. 

SEC.  XXIIi. — Sparrow's  Point. — The  iron  and  steel  industry  of 
Maryland  is  represented  by  the  Maryland  Steel  Company,  an  ex- 
tension of  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company,  of  Steelton,  Pa.  It 
was  started  on  new  ground  in  the  year  1887,  on  the  Chesapeake 


486 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


487 


488 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Bay,  about  15  miles  south  of  Baltimore,  and  ocean  steamers  bring 
ore  from  the  mines  in  Cuba  to  the  stockyard  of  the  blast  furnaces. 
The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company  was  the  first  to  develop  the  Cu- 
ban deposits,  its  Jurugua  mine  having  been  opened  in  1884.  The 
Spanish- American  Iron  Company  followed,  but  has  since  been 
bought  by  The  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company.  Table  XXII-R  shows 
the  shipments  from  the  Cuban  mines  since  their  opening,  and  the 
composition  of  the  ore. 

The  steel  plant  at  Sparrow's  Point  consists  of  two  18-ton  con- 
verters, and  these  supply  a  mill  which  rolls  either  rails  or  billets, 
the  piece  being  finished  from  the  ingot  without  reheating  the  bloom. 
This  plant  also  has  one  of  the  largest  shipyards  in  America.  In  the 
construction  of  the  Bessemer  plant  there  were  two  radical  innova- 
tions introduced  by  its  now  president,  F.  W.  Wood.  The  old  swing- 
ing hydraulic  ladle  cranes  were  discarded,  and  a  traveling  crane  in- 
troduced for  the  first  time.  The  most  radical  change  was  in  plac- 


TABLE  XXII-E. 
Shipments  of  Ore  from  Southeastern  Cuba;  gross  tons. 


Year. 

Jurugua 
Iron  Co. 

Spanish 
American 
Iron  Co. 

Sigua  Iron 
Co. 

Cuban 
Steel  Ore 
Co. 

Total. 

1884  to  1889  incl  av.  per  year 

129,780 

129.780 

1890  to  1894  incl  av  per  year 

291  464 

4088 

295552 

1895  to  1899  incl  .  av.  per  year. 

220,025 

139,034 

359,059 

1900 

154,871 

292,001 

446  872 

1901  

199,764 

334,833 

17,651 

552,248 

1902. 

221,039 

455,105 

23590 

699,734 

1903 

157  230 

467  628 

624858 

Total  to  end  of  1903 

4,069,025 

2  244  746 

20,438 

41  241 

6  375  450 

8U,902 

Aver,  composition  of  cargoes. 

Fe... 

57  00 

63  30 

65  85 

62  80 

S... 

0.288 

0.092 

0.037 

0.211 

P  

0.025 

0  032 

0.015 

0  036 

ing  the  molds  on  trucks  for  casting.  A  mechanical  stripper  then 
removes  the  molds  from  the  ingots  in  close  proximity  to  the  heat- 
ing furnaces.  This  arrangement  is  now  familiar  through  its  uni- 
versal adoption.  A  minor  novelty  in  this  plant,  but  an  advance  in 
line  with  more  recent  progress,  was  the  installation  of  the  Besse- 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  489 

mer  blowing  engine  near  the  blast-furnace  boilers  to  use  the  excess 
power  developed  at  the  smelting  plant. 

During  the  last  few  years  the  Maryland  Steel  Company,  or,  as 
it  is  often  known  from  its  location,  "Sparrow's  Point/'  has  fur- 
nished a  great  proportion  of  the  rails  exported  from  America.  This 
is  a  natural  result  of  its  situation,  and  of  the  fact  that  there  is  no 
duty  on  the  iron  ore  which  goes  into  articles  of  export.  Following 
is  a  statement  showing  the  steel  rolled  from  1898  to  1901,  with 
the  amount  exported.  Fig.  XXII-M  is  a  plan  of  the  rolling  mill  at 
Sparrow's  Point,  while  Fig.  XXII-K  gives  a  cross-section  of  the 
Bessemer  plant  at  Steelton,  Pa.,  showing  the  method  of  casting 
on  trucks: 

1898  1899  1900  1901 

Production 130,804  225,645  225,618  277,853 

Exported    63,972  85,976  102,254  83,673 

Per  cent,  export 48.9                    38.1                    45.3  30.1 

SEC.  XXII j.— Lake  Erie: 

The  ore  for  the  furnaces  of  Pennsylvania  comes  down  the  Great 
Lakes  and  is  unloaded  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie.  A  furnace  at 
the  port  of  entry  will  have  no  land  freight  to  pay  on  the  ore,  and 
will  haul  less  than  one  ton  of  coke,  while  the  furnaces  near  the 
fuel  must  haul  !2/3  tons  of  ore.  The  proposition  is  simple  from  a 
mathematical  standpoint,  but  there  are  circumstances  which  dis- 
turb the  calculations,  for  a  position  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie 
does  not  increase  the  sphere  of  commercial  influence  as  much  as 
might  be  expected.  On  the  north  the  tariff  of  Canada  bars  the  way, 
while  on  the  west  is  the  competition  of  Chicago.  There  is  no  re- 
liable communication  eastward;  the  falls  at  Niagara  have  given 
rise  to  two  canals,  one  on  American  territory  to  New  York  by  way 
of  the  Hudson  Eiver,  and  one  in  Canada,  the  Welland  Canal,  con- 
necting with  the  St.  Lawrence.  Great  sums  have  been  spent  by 
Canada  to  create  an  economical  way  of  shipping  by  water  from  her 
western  provinces  to  the  ocean,  but  she  is  struggling  not  only  with 
a  commercial  but  a  political  complication.  The  navigation  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  from  Quebec  to  Montreal  is  not  satisfactory,  but  the 
latter  place  will  not  allow  Quebec  to  get  all  the  trade.  Conse- 
quently much  money  is  spent  to  improve  the  river  channel,  which 
can  be  used  only  a  part  of  the  3rear,  when  there  already  exists  a 
subsidized  government  railway  which  can  carry  the  freight  to  Que- 


490 


THE  IRON"  INDUSTRY. 


6 
I 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  491 

bee  at  less  cost.  The  same  condition  exists  to  some  extent  in  the 
United  States,  where  the  people  are  urged  to  make  a  ship  water- 
way out  of  the  present  Erie  Canal,  when  the  interest  on  the  money 
needed  to  do  this  would  probably  pay  the  freight  by  railroad  on  all 
the  material  brought  down.  In  both  the  case  of  the  Canadian,  and 
American  canals  there  is  the  serious  objection  that  traffic  is  en- 
tirely suspended  for  three  or  four  months  in  the  winter,  while  in 
the  case  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Eiver  there  is  the  additional  disad- 
vantage that  the  navigation  of  the  lower  bay  for  several  hundred 
miles  is  very  dangerous,  on  account  of  the  prevailing  fogs.  Of  late 
years  the  question  of  marine  insurance  has  become  a  serious  matter. 

All  of  these  matters  have  an  important  bearing  on  the  question 
of  locating  a  steel  plant  on  Lake  Erie,  as  proven  by  the  stress  laid 
on  water  transportation  by  canal  and  by  the  St.  Lawrence  when 
each  new  project  is  started.  These  objections,  however,  are  by  no 
means  prohibitory.  The  advantages  are  self-evident,  and  it  may  be 
said  that  the  trend  of  new  enterprises  is  toward  this  district.  One 
of  the  first  to  make  the  journey  was  the  Lorain  Steel  Company. 
There  had  been  for  some  years  a  rolling  mill  near  Johnstown,  Pa., 
which  bought  blooms  from  the  Cambria  Company  and  made  rails 
for  street  railways.  A  new  works  was  built  near  Cleveland,  equipped 
not  only  for  street  or  "girder'  rails,  but  for  standard  rails,  a  com- 
plete blast  furnace  and  Bessemer  plant  being  erected  on  entirely 
new  ground,  but  the  work  on  frogs,  switches  and  special  work  is 
still  done  at  Johnstown.  Since  that  time  Lorain  has  been  one  of 
the  centers  of  steel  production  in  the  United  States.  It  divides 
with  Steelton  the  work  of  making  all  the  rails  and  most  of  the 
equipment  for  the  street  railways  of  the  United  States,  and  both 
of  these  plants  have  taken  a  part  in  foreign  trade  in  this  line  of 
work. 

The  more  immediate  vicinity  of  Cleveland  has  played  a  very  im- 
portant part  in  the  steel  industry  of  this  country  for  a  long  period. 
The  Otis  Steel  Company  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  open-hearth  firebox  steel,  and  its  name  has  been  known  all 
over  the  land.  The  Cleveland  Rolling  Mill  Company  was  a  factor 
in  the  rail  situation  twenty  years  ago,  but  has  long  since  turned  its 
product  into  special  work,  it  being  one  of  the  largest  producers  of 
wire  rod  in  the  country. 

In  1903  the  new  plant  of  the  Lackawanna  Steel  Company  was 


492  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

put  in  operation  near  Buffalo.  This  includes  all  necessary  blast 
furnaces,  a  Bessemer  plant  of  four  10-ton  vessels,  two  rail  mills,  a 
structural  mill  and  a  merchant  mill,  and  will  include  open-hearth 
furnaces  and  plate  mills.  When  completed  it  will  be  among  the 
largest  plants  of  the  world.  The  most  radical  departure  in  its  con- 
struction is  in  an  extensive  plant  of  gas  engines,  both  to  blow  the 
furnaces  and  to  furnish  electric  power. 

SEC.  XXIIk.— Colorado: 

The  only  great  iron  district  west  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver  is  at 
Pueblo,  Colo.,  but  its  tributary  mines  cover  an  area  which  would 
overshadow  a  European  empire.  The  Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron 
Company  owns  over  30  mines  in  the  State  and  5  mines  in  New 
Mexico.  The  coke  comes  from  southern  Colorado,  about  90  miles 
from  Pueblo,  the  coal  containing  30  per  cent,  of  volatile  matter, 
and  occurring  in  beds  about  6  feet  thick.  It  is  washed  and  gives 
a  hard  coke  containing  16  per  cent,  of  ash.  The  steam  and  gas 
coals  are  brought  50  miles.  In  Colorado  can  be  found  coals  of 
every  description  from  anthracite  to  lignite,  the  beds  having  been 
exposed  to  severe  geologic  disturbances  and  volcanic  intrusions.  . 

The  iron  ore  comes  from  three  sections.  At  Sunrise,  Wyo.,  350 
miles  from  Pueblo,  there  is  an  enormous  deposit  of  red  hematite 
running  as  high  as  62  per  cent,  in  iron,  which  can  be  mined  with 
a  steam  shovel.  At  Fierro,  N.  M.,  600  miles  from  Pueblo,  is  a 
large  deposit  of  hard  magnetic  ore  running  up  to  61  per  cent,  in 
iron.  At  Orient,  Colo.,  125  miles  from  the  works,  is  a  deposit  of 
easily  reducible  limonite  containing  50  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron. 
All  of  these  ores  are  within  the  Bessemer  limit  of  phosphorus.  At 
Leadville,  100  miles  away,  there  is  a  deposit  running  30  per  cent, 
in  manganese,  and  in  eastern  Utah,  about  400  miles  distant,  one 
with  50  per  cent,  of  manganese.  The  spiegel  for  the  steel  plant  is 
smelted  at  the  Minnequa  plant  at  Pueblo. 

This  district  is  protected  by  a  great  distance,  and  a  high  trans- 
portation charge,  from  the  competition  of  Eastern  works,  and  has 
an  enormous  area  as  its  natural  market.  The  country  is  sparsely 
settled,  but  with  the  constant  westward  trend  of  population,  the 
wants  of  railroads  and  other  users  have  increased,  and  there  is  a 
demand  for  a  large  works. 

The  plant,  when  completed,  will  have  five  blast  furnaces,  a  Bes- 
semer plant  with  two  15-ton  converters,  an  open-hearth  plant  with 


THE  UNITED  STATES.  493 

six  50-ton  basic  furnaces,  one  40-inch  blooming  mill,  24-inch  re- 
versing structural  mill,  rod,  sheet,  tin  plate,  wire  and  nail  mills. 

SEC.  XXIII. — Eastern  Pennsylvania: 

In  addition  to  the  Steelton  district,  already  described,  there  are 
several  seats  of  industry  which  should  be  mentioned  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Bethlehem  Works  was  formerly  one  of  the  great  rail  pro- 
ducers, but  has  not  rolled  rails  for  many  years.  It  is  now  engaged 
in  making  open-hearth  steel  forgings  and  has  the  most  complete 
plant  in  the  country  for  this  work.  It  divides  with  the  Carnegie 
Steel  Company  the  work  on  armor  plate  for  the  war  vessels  of 
the  United  States,  and  turns  out  guns  and  shafts  of  the  largest 
size. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  are  the  Midvale  Steel  Com- 
pany and  the  Pencoyd  Works,  the  Phcenixville  Iron  and  Steel 
Company  and  the  Tidewater  Steel  Company.  The  first  of  these 
does  a  large  amount  of  work  in  the  line  of  special  steels  and  forg- 
ings, while  Pencoyd  and  Phoanixville  are  known  as  bridge  and  struc- 
tural shops.  The  Pencoyd  Works  came  into  general  notice  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  on  account  of  the  well-known 
Atbara  Bridge  in  the  Soudan. 

Considerable  pig-iron  is  made  in  eastern  Pennsylvania.  In  the 
Lehigh  Valley  there  are  twenty-nine  furnaces,  and  eighteen  along 
the  Schuylkill.  Most  of  the  product  goes  into  the  general  foundry 
trade,  but  some  is  used  in  the  neighboring  steel  plants.  During  re- 
cent years  these  furnaces  have  quite  generally  used  the  ores  of  Lake 
Superior  with  Connellsville  coke. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Chester,  not  far  from  Philadelphia,  there 
is  a  concentration  of  steel-casting  plants,  this  being  one  of  the  cen- 
ters in  this  line  of  work,  while  Coatesville,  Pa.,  is  prominent  for 
its  plate  mills. 

I  have  divided  eastern  Pennsylvania  in  a  way  somewhat  different 
from  that  followed  by  Mr.  Swank.  He  puts  the  Schuylkill  Valley 
separate,  but  does  not  include  Philadelphia,  which  lies  on  both 
sides  of  this  river.  I  have  combined,  under  the  title  of  southeast 
Pennsylvania,  the  plants  of  the  Schuylkill  Valley  with  those  of 
Philadelphia,  Chester  and  Delaware  counties. 

Table  XXII-S  gives  a  list  of  the  plants  in  this  district  and 
shows  its  importance  as  a  steel  producer. 


494 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXII-S. 
Steel  Plants  in  Southeastern  Pennsylvania. 


Location. 

Open 
Hearth 
Furnaces 
and 
Capacity. 

Tropenas, 
Converters 
and 
Capacity. 

Steel  Works  with  Rolling  Mills: 
Lukens  

Coatesville 

J6-40 

Pencoyd  ".  

Philadelphia 

j  6-50 
10-30 

Phoenix.. 

J4-40 

Worth  Brothers 

Coatesville 

J4-30 
6-35 

Tidewater... 

Chester 

3-50 

Midvale  

Philadelphia. 

? 

Steel  Casting  Plants  • 

Thurlow  .     . 

Chester 

(2-20 

Penn  Steel 

Chester 

)  2-12 
3  25 

Solid  

Chester 

2-20 

Seaboard 

Chester 

2-20 

Chester  

Chester 

1-20 

Norristown.  . 

Norri  stown 

2-15 

Wharton. 

Philadelphia 

1-2 

Brygton  

Reading 

2-2 

Logan  

Phoenixville 

2-2 

SEC.  XXIIm. — New  Jersey,  New  York  and  New  England: 
On  the  shores  of  Lake  Champlain  and  in  the  northern  basin  of 
the  Hudson  River  there  are  considerable  deposits  of  magnetite, 
which  played  an  important  part  in  the  early  history  of  the  Ameri- 
can iron  industry,  being  the  base  of  supplies  for  the  Bessemer  plant 
formerly  operated  at  Troy,  N.  Y.  It  was  necessary  to  transport 
either  coke  or  anthracite  coal  from  Pennsylvania,  and  with  the  ad- 
vent of  cheap  Lake  Superior  ores  the  manufacture  of  steel  at  this 
point  was  abandoned  many  years  ago.  An  attempt  was  made  in 
recent  years  to  operate  a  basic  Bessemer  plant,  but  the  conditions 
were  not  such  as  to  warrant  a  continuance  of  the  operations.  This 
line  of  magnetic  deposits  extends  southwesterly  across  the  northern 
portion  of  New  Jersey  into  Pennsylvania,  where  it  appears  as  the 
Cornwall  ore  hills.  The  ore  varies  throughout  its  length,  its  main 
point  of  resemblance  being  its  magnetic  property.  In  its  northern 
extension  titanium  is  distributed  in  prohibitive  quantities.  In  the 
south  this  element  is  absent.  Many  mines  have  been  worked  in 
New  Jersey  in  years  gone  by,  but  either  from  the  exhaustion  of 
the  deposits  or  from  the  inferior  quality  or  from  the  high  cost  of 
mining,  a  large  number  have  ceased  operation,  so  that  the  amount 
now  produced  in  the  State  is  only  half  what  was  raised  in  1880. 


THE  UNITED  STATES. 


495 


Taking  the  whole  magnetic  field  from  northern  New  York  to 
southern  Pennsylvania,  the  Cornwall  deposit,  described  under 
the  Steelton  district,  produces  half  the  total,  while  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  divide  the  remainder  with  an  annual  production  of 
300,000  tons  each.  The  iron  made  in  these  two  States  enters,  to  a 
limited  extent,  into  the  steel  industry,  some  of  it  being  sold  to 
open-hearth  furnaces,  but  most  of  it  is  used  in  the  general  foundry 
trade.  Much  money  has  been  spent  on  concentrating  plants  through- 
out this  whole  region,  the  most  extensive  outfit  having  been  erected 
in  northern  New  Jersey  by  Edison.  The  ore  used  by  him  contained 
only  18  per  cent,  of  iron  and  was  a  hard  rock,  so  that  the  expense 
per  ton  of  finished  concentrate  was  heavy.  The  operation  of  brick- 
ing was  not  satisfactory  and  the  whole  work  was  discontinued  about 
two  years  ago,  but  in  other  places  less  ambitious  installations  have 
been  worked  with  success. 

Most  of  the  steel  plants  of  this  district  are  local  in  character, 
some  running  exclusively  on  steel  castings.  By  far  the  most  im- 
portant producer  is  the  South  Works,  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  which 
has  eight  open-hearth  furnaces  supplying  wire  mills.  This  is 
owned  by  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation.  No  other  plant  in 
these  six  States  has  as  many  as  six  furnaces.  In  no  works  east  of 
Pennsylvania  is  there,  today,  a  complete  plant  of  blast  furnaces, 
steel  producers  and  rolling  mills,  nor  is  there  a  standard  Bessemer 
converter  in  regular  operation. 

Table  XXII-T  gives  information  concerning  the  distribution  by 
States. 

TABLE  XXII-T. 
Iron  and  Steel  Plants  in  New  England,  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 


Blast 
Furnaces. 

Bessemer  Plants. 

Open  Hearth 
Plants. 

State. 

Coke. 

Char- 
coal. 

Works 
having 
standard 
con- 

Works 
having 
special 
con- 

No. of 
works. 

No.  of 
furn- 
aces. 

Works 
making 
crucible 

steel. 

Works 
having 
rolling 
mills 

verters. 

verters. 

Maine  

1 

3 

1 

4 

14 

1 

7 

Rhode  Island    .  . 

1 

2 

2 

4 

1 

1 

1 

2 

5 

New  York  

16 

3 

* 

6 

11 

3 

21 

New  Jersey  

11 

4 

9 

5 

17 

Total  

27 

10 

2 

16 

37 

11 

53 

*The  Troy  works  is  idle. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 

SECTION  XXIIIa. — General  view. — As  far  as  the  iron  industry 
is  concerned,  the  term  Great  Britain  embraces  only  England,  Wales 
and  Southern  Scotland.  These  divisions  cover  an  area  equal  to 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  combined,  but  embrace  three  or  four  times 
as  great  a  population.  The  pig-iron  production  of  Great  Britain  in 
1904  was  8,562,000  tons,  while  the  two  States  mentioned  made 
10,622,000  tons.  In  both  cases  a  great  part  of  the  ore  was  brought 
a  long  distance  by  water,  to  England  by  the  ocean  and  to  Pennsyl- 
vania by  the  Lakes,  but  Great  Britain  was  compelled  to  find  a 
foreign  market  for  nearly  half  her  product,  while  the  home  demand 
in  America  took  care  of  all  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  output. 
Fig.  XXIII-A  shows  the  districts  into  which  the  country  may  be 
conveniently  divided,  the  statistics  being  from  the  Home  Office  Re- 
ports. Lack  of  room  makes  it  difficult  to  locate  the  squares  exactly 
as  the  statistics  would  require;  it  must,  therefore,  be  remembered 
that  Barrow  is  in  Lancashire,  and  hence  the  product  of  the  Barrow 
Steel  Works  is  included  in  the  lines  shown  in  the  southern  portion 
of  the  county.  The  map  is  a  general  guide,  but  not  an  accurate 
diagram.  The  statistics  on  the  map  are  for  1899,  but  later  figures 
are  given  in  Table  XXIII-B.  . 

Fig.  XXIII-B  shows  the  coal  fields  of  Great  Britain.*  Most 
of  the  coal  gives  a  good  coke,  that  of  Durham  being  noted  for  its 
excellent  quality.  In  1903  the  exports  of  coal  were  44,9.50,057 
tons,  of  which  19,881,773  tons  came  from  South  Wales,  15,535,557 
tons  from  the  Northeast  Coast,  and  7,174,366  tons  from  Scotland, 
these  three  districts  supplying  96  per  cent,  of  all  the  coal  exported. 
There  were  717,477  tons  of  coke  sent  over  sea,  and  of  this  South 
Wales  contributed  102,244  tons,  Scotland  59,210  tons,  while  the 
Northeast  Coast  shipped  463,351  tons.  The  Durham  district,  there- 

*  Les  Charbons  Britainques ;  Loze  ;  Paris,  1900. 
496 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


497 


fore,  supplied  only  one-third  of  the  coal  exported,  but  furnished 
two-thirds  of  the  coke.  The  coal  was  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the 
world,  France  taking  the  most— 6,976,467  tons;  Germany  6,110,101 
tons,  Italy  6,278,333  tons,  and  Russia  2,442,478  tons— almost  all  to 
her  northern  ports.  The  Pacific  Coast  of  the  United  States  took 
72,373  tons,  while  the  Atlantic  Coast  had  1,070,230  tons.  The  coke 
also  was  spread  all  over  the  earth;  out  of  a  total  of  717,477  tons 
exported,  the  best  .customer  was  Spain  and  the  Canaries  with  142,- 
583  tons;  next  Norway,  with  95,229  tons;  northern  Eussia,  28,156 
tens;  Sweden,  58,300  tons.  Of  the  iron-producing  nations  Ger- 
many took  5,871  tons,  France  16,301  tons,  Austria  8,501  tons,  and 
the  Pacific  Coast  of  America  32,388  tons.  The  shipments  to  Spain 
and  to  northern  Russia  are  important,  since  these  two  districts 
depend  upon  outside  sources  for  their  fuel. 

The  steel  industry  of  England  is  largely  dependent  upon  foreign 
ore.  In  1865  the  imports  of  ore  were  not  over  10,000  tons  per 
year.  In  1867  they  had  risen  to  86,568  tons;  in  1870  to  400,000 
tons,  and  in  1880  to  3,000,000  tons.  The  imports,  as  shown  in 
Table  XXIII-A,  now  amount  to  over  6,000,000  tons  per  year, 

TABLE  XXIII-A. 
Imports  of  Iron  Ore  into  Great  Britain. 


1882 

1886 

1890 

1895 

1900 

1908 

Spain 

3072,955 

2533939 

3627646 

3807188 

5,551559 

4,945  086 

Greece  

17,969 

79,007 

193,a53 

304,648 

316648 

Sweden.. 

80904 

98,055 

244999 

Algeria  

91,097 

201,601 

205,670 

162,525 

141,624 

222619 

France  

48,165 

130078 

Norway  .  . 

123,611 

Italy  

b9,23i 

35,546 

79,312 

127,317 

88,532 

111  197 

Newfoundland. 

49536 

Other  countries 

31663 

33543 

39630 

79024 

65380 

107204 

Total.  .  . 

8284946 

2822598 

4031  265 

4450311 

6297963 

6250978 

about  80  to  90  per  cent,  of  which  comes  fr6m  Spain,  where  some 
of  the  largest  English  companies  own  ore  properties.  Greece  and 
Algeria  have  been  the  most  important  sources  of  supply  next  to 
Spain,  but  recently  Sweden  has  come  to  the  front  with  increasing 
shipments  each  year.  This  ore  goes  to  the  north,  south,  east  and 
west.  The  Northeast  Coast  gets  2,000,000  tons  per  year,  Scotland 
1,600,000  tons,  South  Wales  1,200,000  tons,  and  the  West  Coast 


498 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


1,100,000  tons.  This  imported  ore  is  put  into  acid  steel,  while  most 
of  the  native  ore  goes  into  basic  steel  or  wrought-iron,  or  into  the 
general  pig-iron  supply. 

The  distances  through  which  material  is  carried  are  small  in 
comparison  with  those  in  America.  From  the  Scotch  iron  works 
south  of  Glasgow  to  the  coal  mines  of  South  Wales  is  less  than 
three  hundred  miles  in  a  straight  line,  while  across  the  island  from 
the  works  at  Barrow  to  the  coke  fields  of  Durham  is  only  111 
miles  by  railroad.  On  this  account,  the  works  in  England  have 
arranged  themselves  not  so  much  with  relation  to  their  raw  ma- 
terial as  to  a  market  for  their  output.  Cardiff  and  Glasgow  bring 
ore  across  the  sea  to  their  coal  beds,  while  Middlesbrough  brings  the 
fuel  to  the  ore,  and  Barrow  pays  freight  on  a  part  of  both  fuel  and 

TABLE  XXIII-B. 
Output  of  Coal,  Ore,  Iron  and  Steel  in  Great  Britain  in  1903. 


District. 

Coal; 
Tons. 

Ore; 
Tons. 

Pig  Iron; 
Tons. 

Blast  Furnaces 

Wrought 
Iron; 
Tons. 

Total. 

Active. 

North  Yorkshire  (Cleveland)  . 
Durham  and  Northumberland 
Scotland  (Ayr  and  Lanark)..  . 
South  Wales 

2,645 
35,873,293 
21,376,129 
41,453,754 
28,527,958 
26,725,237 
13,037,553 
3,184,136 
14,097,750 
23,851,048 
22,204,966 

5,677,560 
13,468 
546,893 
39,167 
46,375 
1,490,549 
738,549 

'  4,479,578 
20 
683,486 

2,067,163 
1,040,887 
1,290,790 
883,227 
298,406 
1,485,785 
585,330 
*50,000 
639,750 
546,947 
46,778 

75 
39 
97 
57 
24 
76 
65 
5 
45 
51 
21 

52 
29 
84 
20 
15 
39 
31 
3 
28 
38 
10 

119,087 

196,078 

South  Yorkshire  (Sheffield)... 
West  Coast 

124,341 

132,588 
305,819 

Staffordshire... 
North  Wales  
Eastern  Central  District  
Derby  and  Nottingham  

34,lia 
38,367 

Other  districts  .  ... 

Total              

230,334,469 

13,715,645 

8,935,063 

555 

349 

950,393 

'Estimated. 


Production  of  Steel ;  tons. 


District. 

Bessemer. 

Open  Hearth. 

Total  of 
Bessemer 
and  Open 
Hearth. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

North  Yorkshire  (Cleveland). 
Scotland 

24,668 

336,859 

755,044 
865,953 
650,993 
156,474 
125,136 
59,674 

139,784 
38,897 

1,256,355 

904.850 
1,051,888 
548,112 
815,413 
392,737 
64,746 

South  Wales 

400,895 
239,279 
652,073 

South  Yorkshire  (Sheffield)  .  . 
West  Coast 

84,279 

68,080 
38,204 
161,098 
64,746 

Staffordshire  .  .  . 

*171,965 

North  Wales           

Total               

1,316,915 

593,103 

2,613,274 

510,809 

5,034,101 

*  Including  Scotland. 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


499 


ore;  but  in  each  case  the  works  is  on  tidewater,  an  important  fac- 
tor in  a  nation  that  depends  on  foreign  trade.  In  other  cases  there 
are  local  conditions,  as  in  Staffordshire  and  South  Yorkshire, 
where,  during  long  years  and  even  centuries,  there  have  grown  up 

TABLE  XXIII-C. 
Output  of  Pig-iron  in  Great  Britain ;  one  unit=1000  tons. 


District. 

Average 

1882  to 

Average 

1886  to 

Average 
1891  to 

Average 
1896  to 

Average 
1901  to 

1830 

1870 

1885 

1890 

1895 

1900 

1903 

incl. 

incl. 

incl. 

incl. 

incl. 

Northeast  Coast.. 

5 

1627 

2619 

2642 

2638 

3194 

2963 

West  Coast  

678 

1603 

1589 

1284 

1576 

1486 

Scotland 

37 

1206 

1062 

922 

826 

1128 

1233 

South  Wales  

278 

1073 

871 

807 

734 

770 

830 

Eastern  Central. 

75 

432 

505 

494 

641 

600 

Staffordshire  

213 

892 

550 

542 

506 

586 

556 

Central  

18 

180 

437 

388 

417 

521 

508 

South  Yorkshire.. 

29 

78 

260 

197 

213 

296 

276 

Others 

98 

155 

252 

167 

133 

177 

62 

Total.  . 

678 

5964 

8086 

7759 

7245 

8889 

8514 

industries,  like  those  of  Sheffield  and  Birmingham,  that  call  for 
large  quantities  of  steel  and  iron  to  be  worked  into  finished  articles 
of  commerce. 

In  considering  the  short  distances  covered  by  raw  material  it  is 
necessary  to  remember  that  freight  rates  are  much  higher  in  Eng- 
land than  in  America.  In  1900  the  charge  for  carrying  a  ton  of 
pig-iron  from  South  Staffordshire  to  London,  a  distance  of  120 
miles,  was  from  $2.40  to  $2.90,  and  for  carrying  coke  100  miles 
from  South  Durham  to  Cumberland  the  rate  was  $1.80  per  ton.  In 
the  United  States  the  rate  on  pig-iron  from  Pittsburgh  to  Philadel- 
phia, in  the  same  year,  a  distance  of  353  miles,  was  $1.77.  On  coke 
between  the  same  points  it  was  $1.95.  The  rate  on  coke  is  over 
three  times  as  high  as  in  America,  while  on  pig-iron  it  is  four  to 
five  times  as  much. 

Both  Scotland  and  Middlesbrough  have  specialties  in  the  ship- 
building industries  on  the  Clyde  and  the  northeast  coast.  The 
vessels  launched  each  year  in  England  foot  up  from  1,000,000  to 
1,500,000  tons,  and,  by  a  rough  estimate,  this  means  from  350,000 
to  500,000  tons  of  steel  and  iron,  or,  say,  one-twelfth  of  all  the 
wrought-iron  and  steel  made  in  the  Kingdom. 

Table  XXIII-B  gives  more  information  concerning  the  iron  in- 


500 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


dustry  in  1903,  while  Tables  XXIII-C,  D  and  E  give  the  results 
of  an  inquiry  into  the  iron  trade  during  the  last  twenty  years:  It 
is  shown  that  the  English  iron  industry  is  in  a  stationary  condi- 
tion. The  output  of  ore  has  decreased  in  the  last  twenty  years,  but 

TABLE  XXIII-D. 
Output  of  Iron  Ore  in  Great  Britain;  one  unit=1000  tons. 


District. 

1860 

1870 

1880 

Average 
1886  to 
1890 
incl. 

Average 
1891  to 
1895 
iucl. 

Average 
1896  to 
1900 
incl. 

Average 
1901  to 
1903 
incl. 

Northeast  Coast... 
Eastern  Central.  .  . 
West  Coast 

1484 
118 
990 

4298 
1048 
2093 

6528 
2765 
2759 

5416 
2897 
2569 

4700 
2974 
2199 

5639 
4018 
1943 

5458 
4130 
1540 

Staffordshire  

1543 

1378 

1798 

1341 

925 

1025 

793 

Scotland  

2150 

3500 

2664 

1226 

785 

887 

505 

Bristol  Channel... 
Central  

828 
376 

865 
385 

534 
153 

197 
15 

160 
11 

120 
4 

33 
2 

South  Yorkshire 

256 

308 

287 

78 

72 

56 

Others 

279 

496 

538 

286 

229 

339 

679 

Total 

8024 

14371 

18026 

14025 

12055 

14031 

13140 

is  now  increasing,  owing  to  the  development  of  the  lean  ore  beds 
of  Leicestershire,  Lincolnshire  and  Northamptonshire.  There  has 
been  a  decided  increase  in  the  amount  of  ore  imported,  and  the  pro- 
duction of  pig-iron  has  been  thus  sustained,  but  the  rate  of  in- 
crease in  production  of  iron  and  steel  has  been  less  in  the  case  of 

TABLE  XXIII-E. 
Imports  of  Ore  into  Great  Britain  at  Different  Points. 


Average 
1882  to 
1885 
inclusive. 

Average 
1886  to 
1890 
inclusive. 

Average 
1891  to 
1895 
inclusive. 

Average 
1896  to 
1900 
inclusive. 

Average 
1901  to 
1903 
inclusive. 

Norl  heast  Coast  

948000 

1  488000 

1920000 

2354000 

2,051,000 

Bristol  Channel 

1  434000 

1  347  000 

1  183  000 

1  387  000 

1257000 

Scotland  

382,000 

5751QOO 

694000 

1394000 

1,640,000 

West  Coast. 

294000 

317  000 

166000 

882  (XX) 

1  124000 

Others 

11  000 

15000 

15  000 

31  000 

29000 

Total 

3069000 

3742000 

•  3  978000 

6048000 

6101000 

England  than  in  any  of  the  other  leading  nations.  For  the  sake  of 
comparison  I  have  calculated  the  average  output  per  year  for  the 
five  years  from  1880  to  1884  inclusive,  and  for  the  five  years  from 
1899  to  1903.  In  the  case  of  Russia  the  output  of  pig-iron  in  the 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


501 


later  period  was  5.20  times  what  it  was  some  twenty  years  earlier. 
The  other  nations  gave  ratios  as  follows:     United  States,  3.71; 


KT6LAJO)  MD  WAIES 

....SCALED  MILES     , 

10     0    10   20   30    40   SO 

STATISTICS  OF  PRODUCTION i 

1  Unit  =  1000  Tons  per  Yea*. 


FIG.  XXIII-A. 


Germany,  2.68;  Austria-Hungary,  2.26;  Belgium,  1.47;  France, 
1.35;  Sweden,  1.24;  Great  Britain,  1.08.  The  records  of  steel  out- 
put gave  the  following  ratios  of  increase:  United  States,  8.21; 


502 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Germany,    7.35;   Eussia,    6.69;    Sweden,    6.33;   Austria-Hungary, 
5.12;  Belgium,  4.46;  France,  3.52;  Great  Britain,  2.68.    It  is  clear 


COAL  FIELDS 

OF 
GEEAT  BEITA1K 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


FIG.  XXIII-B. 


that  during  the  last  twenty  years  the  rate  of  increase  in  output  has 
been  less  for  England  than  for  any  other  country  in  both  pig-iron 
and  steel. 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


503 


SEC.  XXIIIb.— The  Northeast  Coast*— The  Northeast  Coast  is 
the  great  iron  and  steel  district,  making  one-third  of  all  the  pig- 
iron  and  one-quarter  of  all  the  steel  of  the  Kingdom.  Middles- 
brough is  the  center  where  the  coke  of  Durham  meets  the  ore  from 
Spain,  or  from  the  Cleveland  Hills,  and  the  finished  steel  finds  an 
outlet  either  in  the  shipyards  along  the  Tees,  or  by  water  to  other 
ports  of  the  kingdom,  or  of  other  countries.  The  Cleveland  beds 
produce  40  per  cent,  of  all  the  ore  raised  in  the  island.  This  is 
smelted  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines,  and  out  of  a  total  of 


Alnmouth 


^COQUET  18. 


DIKHAM  COAL  FIELD 


r    a 


fi      E 


FIG.  XXIII-C. 

79  blast  furnaces  in  operation  in  the  Northeast  in  1901  there  were 
43  smelting  Cleveland  ore.  A  small  proportion  of  Cleveland  iron 
is  converted  into  steel,  mostly  by  the  basic  Bessemer  process,  but 
almost  all  of  the  steel  made  in  the  district  is  from  Spanish  ore. 
The  Cleveland  deposit  is  not  rich  enough  in  either  phosphorus  or 


*I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Arthur  Cooper,  Managing  Director  of  the  Northeastern  Steel 
Works,  for  a  careful  reading  of  this  section. 


504 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


manganese  to  give  a  proper  iron  for  the  basic  Bessemer,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  add  other  ores  which  are  richer  in  these  elements ;  con- 
sequently, most  of  the  product  goes  into  foundry  and  forge  pig  for 
use  at  home  and  abroad.  The  output  of  Middlesbrough  furnaces, 
especially  those  of  Bell  Brothers,  forms  the  foundation  of  foundry 
practice  throughout  the  northern  part  of  the  Continent;  it  is  often 
used  alone,  but  is  mixed  with  iron  of  lower  phosphorus  to  make  the 
better  class  of  castings.  On  another  page,  in  the  discussion  of  Lin- 
colnshire, Leicestershire  and  Northamptonshire,  further  remarks 
will  be  made  on  the  lean  ore  deposits  of  England,  the  ore  beds  of 


.    Wynyard 


CLEVELAND  ORE  BEDS 


N        D 


FIG.  XXIII-D. 

these  three  counties  being  practically  of  the  same  geological  for- 
mation as  the  Cleveland  beds.  Fig.  XXIII-C  shows  the  relation  of 
the  coal  field  of  Durham  to  the  district  around  Middlesbrough, 
while  Fig.  XXIII-D  shows  the  Cleveland  ore  deposits.* 

The  Cleveland  ore  is  a  carbonate  and  the  composition  is  given 
by  Kirchhoff  as  follows: 


*  These  maps  are  from  letters  written  by  C.  Kirchhoff,  Editor  of  The  Iron  Age,  who  has 
granted  me  permission  to  use  them.  I  am  indebted  to  the  same  letters  for  much  infor- 
mation concerning  this  district. 


GREAT  BRITAIN.  505 

Per  cent. 

Protoxide  of  iron 35.37 

Peroxide  of  iron. 1.93 

Protoxide  of  manganese 1. 00 

Alumina 6.95 

Lime 6.63 

Magnesia 3.73 

Silica 10.22 

Carbonic  acid 22.02 

Sulphur O.lOf 

Phosphoric  acid    1.15 

Organic  matter 1.20 

Moisture 9.80 

Total    100.10 

Metallic  iron   28.85 

Phosphorus    0.50 

Loss  by  calcination 29.58 

Iron  in  calcined  stone 40.96 

The  composition  of  calcined  stone  is  given  as  follows: 

Per  cent 

Peroxide   of   Iron 59.77 

Oxide  of  manganese 0.99 

Alumina 9.28 

Lime   9.23 

Magnesia   5.41 

Silica 13.66 

Sulphur    0.12 

Phosphoric  acid 1.41 

Total    99.87 

Metallic  iron 41.84 

Phosphorus 0.62 

The  ore  varies  in  different  parts  of  the  field.  In  many  cases  the 
content  of  iron  is  less,  and  there  is  a  greater  proportion  of  silica 
and  earthy  matter,  so  that  a  larger  quantity  of  fuel  and  stone  is 
required.  For  this  reason  considerable  differences  in  practice  and 
in  cost  will  be  found  between  furnaces  in  Middlesbrough.  The  ore 
deposit,  at  its  northern  edge,  sometimes  contains  as  much  as  32  per 
cent,  of  iron,  and  in  exceptional  cases  33  per  cent.  The  thickness 
of  the  bed  is  also  greatest  at  this  point,  measuring  15  feet  7  inches 
at  the  mines  of  Bolckow,  Vaughan  &  Co.  Toward  the  south  it 
grows  thinner,  the  quality  falls,  and, at  the  outcrop  at  Whitby  there 
is  only  25  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron. 

The  ore  is  calcined  to  expel  carbonic  acid,  and  this  removes  the 
water  and  organic  matter,  so  that  the  roasted  product  contains 

*  I  believe  the  average  content  of  sulphur  is  nearer  0.25. 


506  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

about  40  per  cent,  of  iron.  The  fuel  consumption  in  the  kiln  is 
about  80  pounds  of  small  coal  per  ton  of  ore.  The  figures  quoted 
give  41.84  per  cent,  of  iron  and  13.66  per  cent,  of  silica,  but  I  be- 
lieve that  the  figures  are  rather  roseate  and  refer  to  the  best  records 
rather  than  to  the  average,  and  that  the  general  run  of  ore  after 
calcining  will  carry  only  40  per  cent,  of  iron  with  silica  up  to  19 
per  cent.  The  average  selling  price  from  1870  to  1883  is  given 
by  Bell  as  $1.02  per  ton  at  the  mines,  with  30  cents  freight,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  $1.32  per  ton  at  the  furnace.  The  value  in  1899  is 
given  in  the  Home  Office  Eeports  at  $1.01  per  ton  at  the  mine. 
Counting  a  short  haul  and  the  cost  of  calcining,  it  can  hardly  be 
less  than  $1.15  per  ton  for  a  30  per  cent,  ore;  this  is  3.83  cents 
per  unit,  and  if  the  Cleveland  pig  contains  92  per  cent,  of  iron, 
the  cost  of  the  ore  per  ton  of  pig  will  be  $3.52.  Kirchhoff  gives 
the  cost  at  the  furnaces  of  Bolckow,  Vaughan  as  85  cents  per  ton, 
to  which  must  be  added  the  cost  of  calcining.  For  a  30  per  cent, 
ore  this  means  about  $3  per  ton  of  pig-iron.  The  distance  from 
South  Durham  to  Middlesbrough  is  from  20  to  30  miles,  and  the 
freight  50  cents  per  ton. 

The  coal  from  Durham  varies,  but  the  coals  are  often  mixed. 
The  average  of  four  samples  quoted  by  Bell  is  as  follows : 

Per  cent. 

C 80.51 

H 4.48 

O+N 8.03 

S 1.26 

Ash 5.16 

Water 1.01 


100.46 

The  fixed  carbon  was  70.32  per  cent,  and  the  loss  in  coking  is 
over  40  per  cent,  in  beehive  ovens.  The  greater  quantity  of  Dur- 
ham coke  is  made  in  this  type  of  oven,  although  works  in  Middles- 
brough are  introducing  the  by-product  process.  Bell  states  that 
the  coke  runs  6.60  per  cent,  in  ash  and  0.96  per  cent,  in  sulphur. 
Kirchhoff  gives  the  composition  of  four  samples,  averaging  as  fol- 
lows: 

Per  cent. 

Carbon   88.16 

Sulphur  1.11 

Ash 9.33 

Water  .  1.40 


100.00 


GREAT  BRITAIN.  507 

The  coke  is  strong  and  is  in  demand  abroad,  considerable  quanti- 
ties being  exported.  Two-thirds  of  all  the  coke  sent  abroad  by 
England  in  1903  was  shipped  from  the  Northeast  Coast.  There 
were  also  heavy  shipments  of  coal,  the  proportion  being  one-third 
of  the  total  exports.  The  ash  in  Durham  coke  is  low,  and  this 
decreases  the  amount  of  silicious  material  entering  the  blast  fur- 
nace. The  fuel  needed  for  a  ton  of  Cleveland  iron  is  given  by  Bell 
as  1J  tons,  and  in  exceptional  cases  it  may  be  lower,  but,  from  in- 
formation received  from  most  excellent  authority,  I  believe  this 
is  more  often  the  hope  than  the  actuality.  Taking  the  whole  cam- 
paign of  the  furnace  and  considering  the  amount  actually  paid  for 
on  board  cars,  there  are  few  furnaces  at  Middlesbrough  getting 
along  with  less  than  1J  tons,  and  many  using  more.  The  cost  of 
coke  is  given  by  Kirchhoff  as  $1.82  to  $2.20  per  ton  at  the  mines, 
and  the  cost  at  the  furnaces  at  Middlesbrough  will  be  from  $2.30  to 
$2.70  per  ton.  The  selling  price  is  from  $3.15  to  $3.50  per  ton. 

When  smelting  Cleveland  stone,  the  amount  of  limestone  varies 
with  the  character  of  the  ore.  Bell  gives  the  amount  as  1175  to 
1350  pounds  per  ton  and  the  cost  as  80  cents  per  ton  at  the  fur- 
nace, so  that  the  cost  of  stone  would  be  from  43  to  49  cents  per 
ton  of  iron.  Kirchhoff  gives  1300  pounds  of  stone  per  ton  of  iron, 
but  puts  the  stone  at  $1.20  per  ton,  making  an  item  of  70  cents  per 
ton.  My  own  information  agrees  with  the  amount  above  given,  but 
Cochrane,  in  a  detailed  investigation  of  Cleveland  practice  and  the 
use  of  lime,  shows  a  consumption  of  1600  pounds.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  ore  contained  only  26.9  per  cent,  of  iron.  From  an- 
other source  I  have  been  given  the  figure  of  1900  pounds  of  stone 
at  a  cost  of  $1.10  per  ton  of  stone,  representing  95  cents  per  ton  of 
pig-iron.  We  may,  therefore,  estimate  the  cost  of  Cleveland  pig- 
iron  for  those  who  own  their  own  coal  mines  and  ore  beds,  count- 
ing nothing  for  the  money  invested,  and  also  the  cost  for  those 
who  do  not  own  their  own  supplies. 


Per  ton  Pig-iron. 
Fuel  1  %  tons  @2.40  

Minimum. 
Complete, 
ownership. 
$2  70 

Fair 

practice. 
Market  prices. 

"     1^4  tons  @3.30  

$4  10 

Stone  1300  Ibs.  

70 

95 

Ore  ., 

3.00 

3.50 

$6.40  $8.55 


508  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

If  we  add  60  cents  for  labor  and  25  cents  for  supplies,  which 
are  figures  given  by  Kirchhoff,  we  have  a  total  of  $7.25  for  the  best 
managed  and  equipped  plants  owning  their  coal  and  ore  mines, 
and  $9.40  for  plants  buying  their  raw  material  and  using  more 
fuel.  Some  works  show  a  higher  cost.  These  totals  do  not  include 
general  expenses  and  administration,  nor  the  interest  and  deprecia- 
tion account,  so  that  they  by  no  means  represent  the  cost  of  pig- 
iron  in  Cleveland.  They  may,  however,  be  compared  with  similar 
calculations  where  the  cost  of  pig-iron  in  different  localities  is  con- 
fidently predicted,  as  in  such  cases  these  latter  items  are  always 
ignored.  It  may  be  pertinent  to  record  that  the  selling  price  of 
Cleveland  iron  in  1900-01  was  $11.20  per  ton. 

Thus  Cleveland  iron  can  be  made  cheaply,  but  it  is  an  undesir- 
able metal.  It  contains  so  much  phosphorus  that  it  is  hard  to  use 
in  a  basic  open-hearth  furnace,  although  it  is  certain  that  it  can 
be  so  used.  On  the  other  hand,  it  contains  so  little  phosphorus  that 
it  is  not  well  fitted  for  the  basic  Bessemer.  For  the  basic  converter 
it  has  been  customary  to  enrich  the  phosphorus  content  by  adding 
puddle  cinder,  and  to  raise  the  manganese  by  manganiferous  im- 
ported ores.  With  the  diminution  of  the  supply  of  puddle  cinder  it 
is  necessary  to  use  basic  converter  slag  in  the  blast  furnaces,  and 
no  matter  what  the  mixture  may  be,  the  silicon  must  be  kept  low, 
thus  requiring  a  large  amount  of  lime  to  flux  the  high  silica  in  the 
ore.  Taking  everything  together,  the  cost  of  making  iron  for  the 
basic  converter  is  given  by  Kirchhoif  at  from  $1  to  $1.50  per 
ton  above  the  ordinary  product.  For  open-hearth  work  the  man- 
ganese is  not  necessary  and  the  phosphorus  an  injury.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  as  if  a  cheap  iron  could  be  made  for  this  purpose, 
while  the  phosphorus  might  be  lessened  by  mixing  with  foreign 
ores. 

The  price  of  Spanish  ore  in  the  winter  of  1900-01  was  about 
$2.61  at  Bilbao,  with  the  low  ocean  freight  of  $1.03,  making  a 
total  of  $3.64  per  ton  at  Middlesbrough.  As  the  ore  contains  about 
49  per  cent,  of  iron,  this  gives  7.43  cents  per  unit,  or  about  $7.06 
per  ton  of  iron.  The  assumption  that  the  ore  contains  only  49  per 
cent,  of  iron  may  seem  pessimistic,  but  the  decrease  in  the  quality 
of  the  Spanish  ores  has  been  a  serious  matter.  This  subject  was 
discussed  in  the  presidential  address  of  William  Whitwell  before 
the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute,  and  he  gave  the  composition  of  Rubio 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


509 


ores  as  imported  at  Middlesbrough  in  1890  and  1900.     The  com- 
parison is  as  follows: 

1890  1900 

Pe  dry 55.50  52.80 

Water 9.00  9.10 

Fe  as  received 50.50  47.99 

Silica 7.10  10.09 

The  ocean  freight  is  usually  30  cents  higher  than  the  figures  just 
given,  which  would  make  the  ore  cost  $3.94  per  ton,  or  about  $7.60 
per  ton  of  iron.  The  silica  runs  about  one-half  as  high  as  in  the 
Cleveland  stone,  and  the  limestone  needed  is  less,  and  the  fuel  will 
be  about  0.95  tons  per  ton  of  pig-iron.  '  The  cost,  therefore,  of  the 
ore,  fuel  and  stone  for  a  ton  of  hematite  pig-iron  will  be  as  fol- 
lows: 


Ore 

Low  freight. 
$7  06 

Usual  freight. 
$7.60 

Coke             

2.66 

2.66 

50 

.50 

$10.22 


$10.76 


Adding  the  same  amount  for  labor  and  supplies  as  in  the  case  of 
Cleveland  iron,  viz.,  85  cents,  the  cost  of  hematite  iron  is  from 
$11.10  to  $11.60,  not  reckoning  general  expense  or  interest.  In 
the  winter  of  1900-01  the  selling  price  was  about  $13.85  per  ton. 

TABLE  XXIII-F. 
Iron  and  Steel  Plants  on  the  Northeast  Coast. 


Name  of  Works. 

Location. 

Blast 
Furnaces. 

Bessemer 
Converters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Bolckow,  Vanghn  &  Co  

Middlesbro'.  .  .  . 
Durham 

30 
4 

7 

4 

6 
4 

10 

Northeastern  Steel  Co  

Consett  Iron  Co 

27 

Britannia  and  West  Marsh  

^liddlesbro'. 

11 

Tudhoe                                        .     ... 

10 

Palmer's  Shipbuilding  Co  

JarrowonTyne 

5 

g 

South  Durham  Co.,  3  Works  

23 

Armstrong,  Whitworth  &  Co.  (Els- 
wick) 

Newcastle 

6 

2 
6 

Bell  Brothers  (Clarence)     

12 

4 

Sir  B  Samuelson  &  Co. 

8 

Edw  Williams 

6 

Others              

51 

8 

Total  

| 

123 

4 

10 

107 

8 

510 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


511 


The  important  steel  works  on  the  Northeast  Coast  are  given  in 
Table  XXIII-F.  Bell  Brothers  have  not  been  large  producers  of 
steel  in  the  past,  but  have  lately  put  in  an  extensive  open-hearth 
plant.  Fig.  XXIII-E  shows  a  plan  of  the  works  of  the  North- 
eastern Steel  Company,  at  Middlesbrough.  In  Tables  XXIII-G 
and  H  are  given  data  concerning  the  industrial  history  of  the  dis- 
trict. 

TABLE  XXIII-G. 

Output  of  Ore  and  Pig-iron  on  the  Northeast  Coast. 


Average  for  Period 
per  year. 

Ore  Raised  ;  Tons. 

Pig  Iron  ;  Tons. 

North 
Yorkshire. 

Durham 

Total. 

North 
Yorkshire. 

Durham  & 
Northum- 
berland. 

Total. 

1882  to!885incl.. 
1886  to  1890  incl..     . 
1891  to!895incl..     . 
1896  to  1900  incl..     . 
1901  to  1903  incl.  .     . 

6,266,805 
5,404,267 
4,699,961 
5,638,882 
5,393,590 

55,710 
11,995 

7,747 
18,601 
18,031 

6,322,516 
5,416,262 
4,707,708 
5,657,482 
5,411,621 

1,786,064 
1,861,996 
1,838,626 
2,157,304 
1,966,853 

832,607 
780,461 

799.308 
1,036,533 
996,158 

2,618,671 
2,642,457 
2,637,934 
3,193,837 
2,963,011 

TABLE  XXIII-H. 
Imports  of  Ore  at  Ports  on  the  Northeast  Coast. 


Average  for 
Period  per 
year;  tons. 

Middles- 
bro. 

No.  &  So. 
Shields  & 
Newcastle 

Stock- 
ton. 

Hartle- 
pool. 

Sunder- 
land. 

Others. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  incl. 
1886  to  1890  incl. 
1891  to  1895  incl. 

434,000 
969,000 
1,413  000 

294,000 
493,000 

")44  IMJ 

76,000 
144,000 
231  000 

41,000 
155,000 
115000 

67.000 
93,000 

97  ml 

8,000 
6,000 

920,000 
1,880,000 

2,400,000 

1896  to  1900  incl. 
1901  to  1903  incl. 

1,568,000 
1,113,000 

826,000 

498,000 

285,000 
230,000 

105,000 

136,000 

9-U  «K  i 
74,000 

4,000 

2,942,000 
2,051,000 

SEC.  XXIIIc. — Scotland  (Ayrshire  and  Lanarkshire)  : 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  James  Riley,  formerly  general  manager  of  the  Steel  Company  of 
Scotland  and  of  the  Glasgow  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  for  a  careful  review  of  this  section- 

The  iron  industry  of  Scotland  dates  back  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  but  it  was  well  along  in  the  last  century  before  there  was  any 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  blackband  from  the  coal  measures 
which  at  that  time  existed  throughout  Ayrshire  and  Lanarkshire. 
This  blackband  was  roasted  and  gave  an  ore  making  63  per  cent, 
of  pig-iron.  In  1870  Scotland  produced  3,500,000  tons  of  ore,  but 
in  1880  this  dropped  to  2,660,000  tons.  Half  of  this  was  black- 


512  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

band,  but  the  price  had  risen  to  $3.60  per  ton  at  the  pit.  In  1900 
only  597,826  tons  of  ore  were  raised  from  the  coal  measures,  the 
price  being  officially  given  as  $2.40  per  ton  at  the  pit  mouth,  and 
this  constituted  70  per  cent,  of  all  the  ore  raised  in  Scotland. 

The  pig-iron  industry,  in  spite  of  the  disappearance  of  the  black- 
band  and  the  importation  of  foreign  ores,  still  retains  a  distinctive 
characteristic  in  the  use  of  raw  "splint"  coal  in  the  blast  furnace. 
The  composition  of  Lanark  coal  is  as  follows : 

Per  cent. 

C 66.00 

H 4.34 

O+N 12.03 

S 0.59 

Ash 5.42 

Water   11.62 


100.00 
Fixed   carbon    53.4 

This  coal,  when  charged  into  the  furnace,  will  not  fuse  and  get 
sticky,  provided  the  furnace  is  not  more  than  70  feet  high.  The 
heating  value  is  only  80  per  cent,  of  Durham  coal,  but  counting 
the  loss  in  the  coking  process,  there  is  a  slight  advantage,  ton  for 
ton,  in  the  Scotch  coal  charged  in  the  furnace  over  the  Durham 
coal,  which  must  first  be  coked.  When  using  this  raw  coal  the  fur- 
nace gases  contain  a  quantity  of  hydrocarbons,  and  it  is  profitable 
to  put  up  scrubbers  and  collect  the  tar  and  ammonia  before  the  gas 
passes  to  the  boilers  and  stoves.  The  best  beds  of  Lanarkshire 
coal  are  approaching  exhaustion,  and  recently  some  plants  have 
experimented  in  the  making  of  a  poor  coke  from  local  coal  and 
using  it  as  a  mixture  with  the  inferior  splint  coals,  but  this  prac- 
tice seems  to  make  no  progress.  A  considerable  amount  of  coke  is 

TABLE  XXIII-I. 
Production  of  Pig-Iron  in  Scotland. 

Period.  Production  per  year. 

Inclusive.  Tons. 

1861  to  1865 1,122,600 

1866  to  1870 ; . . .  1,089,800 

1871  to  1875 1,021,600 

1876  to  1880 993,600 

1881  to  1885 1,084,400 

1886  to  1890 922,217 

1891  to  1895 826,128 

1896  to  1900 ]  ,128,161 

1901  to  1903 1,^32,967 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


513 


made  in  the  Kilsyth  district,  for  foundry  purposes.  The  district 
of  Ayrshire  and  Lanarkshire  produces  9  per  cent,  of  all  the  coal 
raised  in  the  Kingdom,  and  exports  large  quantities.  In  spite  of 
the  great  decrease  in  the  supply  of  native  ore,  the  production  of 
pig-iron  has  been  sustained  by  the  use  of  Spanish  ores,  but  there 
has  been  little  increase,  the  amount  smelted  having  remained  nearly 
constant  during  the  last  forty  years,  as  shown  in  Table  XXIII-I. 

Scotland  now  makes  14  per  cent,  of  the  pig-iron  and  18  per  cent, 
of  the  steel  made  in  the  Kingdom.  Most  of  the  ore  is  imported  from 
Spain,  and  the  pig-iron  is  used  to  make  acid  open-hearth  steel  for 
shipbuilding  and  other  purposes.  Scotland  makes  only  a  small 

TABLE  XXIII-J. 
Iron  and  Steel  Plants  in  Scotland   (Ayrshire  and  Lanarkshire). 


Name  of  Works. 

Location. 

Blast 
Furnaces. 

Bessemer 
Converters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Steel  Co.  of  Scotland  j 

David  ColTiUe  &  Sons  (  Dal- 
_pii\ 

Newton....  > 
Glasgow....  ) 

30 

18 

1 

Parkhead  Forge  
G  lasgow  I.  and  S.  Co  

Glasgow  
Wishaw 

***4**" 



6 
12 

8 
3 
9 
9 
8 
8 

Glengarnock  

Ayrshire  
Cambuslang. 

12 

4-10  tons 

PIvrlpo/ljLla 

Summerlee  &  Mossend  Co. 
Other  open  hearth  plants.. 

Mossend 

7 

Coltness  
Scattered... 

9 
11 
26 

Others  

95 

4 

111 

1 

amount  of  Bessemer  steel  and  hardly  any  basic  open-hearth,  but 
she  makes  more  acid  open-hearth  steel  than  Cleveland,  each  of 
them  making  one-third  of  all  that  kind  of  metal  made  in  Great 
Britain.  Table  XXIII-J  gives  a  list  of  the  principal  plants  in 
Scotland.  Most  of  the  steel  plants  make  plates  and  miscellaneous 
structural  bars.  In  Tables  XXIII-K  and  L  are  given  certain  items 
of  statistical  information;  the  importations  of  ore  come  mostly  to 
ports  on  the  western  shore,  but  a  considerable  quantity  is  brought  to 
the  Firth  of  Forth. 


514 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXIII-K. 
Output  of  Ore  and  Pig-iron  in  Scotland. 


Average  for  period  per 

Orp  RsiiQpfl 

Pig  Iron. 

year;  tons. 

Ayrshire. 

Lanarkshire. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive  .  .  . 

2,088,652 

323516 

738  125 

1  061  641 

1886  to  1890  inclusive  
1891  to  1895  inclusive  .  .  . 

1,225,559 
784,831 

296,998 
246758 

625,218 
579  370 

988,216 

826  128 

1896  to  1900  inclusive  .  .  . 

887,471 

353274 

774  887 

1  128  161 

1901  to  1903  inclusive  

811,260 

365,599 

867,369 

1,232,968 

TABLE  XXIII-L. 
Imports  of  Iron  Ore  at  Ports  in  Scotland. 


Average  for  period  per 
year;  tons. 

Glas- 
gow. 

Ardros- 
sen. 

Ayr. 

Troon. 

Others. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive  .  .  . 

272000 

34000 

14000 

6,000 

83,000 

409,000 

1886  to  1890  inclusive  .... 
1891  to  1895  inclusive  .  .  . 

312,000 
387000 

33,000 
141  000 

42,000 
54000 

10,000 
32,000 

178,000 
81,000 

575,000 
695.000 

18%  to  1900  inclusive  .  .  . 

680000 

422000 

110  (XX) 

84000 

98,000 

1,394,000 

1901  to  1903  inclusive 

877  000 

413  000 

99000 

116000 

135,000 

1,640,000 

SEC.  XXIIId.— South  Wales: 

In  this  district  I  have  included  Glamorganshire  and  the  English 
county  of  Monmouth.  Near  by  in  Gloucestershire  is  the  Forest  of 
Dean,  once  famous  as  an  iron  district,  but  which,  in  1900,  produced 
only  9885  tons  of  ore,  no  pig-iron  being  made  in  its  borders.  The 
iron  industry  of  South  Wales  was  founded  on  a  lean  clay  band 
running  30  per  cent,  in  iron.  In  1860  the  above-mentioned  counties 
raised  830,000  tons  of  ore  and  in  1870  the  amount  was  a  trifle 
larger.  From  then  the  production  decreased,  being  only  half  as 
much  in  1880,  while  now  it  is  a  negligible  quantity.  The  production 
of  pig-iron  has  remained  stationary  from  1860  until  now.  Before 
the  local  ores  failed  the  hematites  of  the  West  Coast  were  brought 
in,  and  then  by  providential  dispensation  the  mines  of  northern 
Spain  were  developed,  and  from  that  time  South  Wales  has  run 
exclusively  on  this  imported  supply. 

In  former  times  the  coal  from  certain  districts  at  works  near 
Merthyr  was  used  directly  in  the  furnace  in  the  same  way  as  in 
Scotland,  but  this  practice  has  been  discarded  and  a  richer  coal  is. 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


515 


now  coked.    The  volatile  matter  in  this  coal  is  low,  running  from 
16  to  22  per  cent.,  and  some  seams  contain  30  per  cent,  of  ash,  but, 


Gas  Producers 


~]  Feeder 


x  i 


FIG.  XXIII-F. — DOWLAIS  WORKS,  CARDIFF,  WALES. 

by  washing,  this  may  be  reduced  so  that  the  coke  contains  only  10 
per  cent,  and  good  results  are  obtained.    The  Spanish  hematites  im- 


516 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


ported  at  Cardiff  in  1899  contained  only  50  per  cent,  of  iron  and 
from  7  to  14  per  cent,  of  silica,  but  they  were  smelted  with  one  ton 
of  coke  per  ton  of  iron.  Some  of  the  older  iron  works  are  in  the  in- 
terior, a  legacy  from  ancient  times,  but  new  plants  are  on  tide- 
water, thus  reducing  the  freight  on  both  raw  material  and  finished 
product. 

The  northern  shore  of  the  Bristol  Channel  produced  almost  ex- 
actly the  same  quantity  of  steel  in  1903  as  Scotland.  Unlike 
Scotland,  half  of  the  output  is  Bessemer;  but  like  Scotland,  it  is 
all  acid,  both  Bessemer  and  open-hearth.  This  district  in  1903 
raised  18  per  cent,  of  all  the  coal  mined  in  the  island  and  fur- 
nished 44  per  cent,  of  all  the  coal  exported  from  the  Kingdom, 

TABLE  XXIII-M. 

Iron  and  Steel  Plants  in  Glamorganshire,  Monmouthshire  and 
Gloucestershire. 


Name  of  Works. 

Location. 

Blast 
Furnaces. 

Bessemer  Con- 
verters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Blaenavon  
Merthyr  Tydfil 
Ebbw  Vale.... 

9 
9 
6 

1  »  } 

2 

4 

i 

2 
2 

2 



Crawshay  Bros.  (Cyf  arthfa) 
Ebbw  Vale  S.  and  I.  Co  
Guest  Keen  &  Co.,  for-  1 
merly  Dowlais  Iron  Co.  f 
Nettlef  olds                 

2 
8 
6 

Cardiff 



Newport         •  . 

5 

Elba  &  Pan  teg 

8 
5 
6 
5 
5 
37 

Swansea  Hem.  I.  &  S.  Wks. 

2 
2 

Briton  Ferry  .  . 

Pontardawe  Steel  'W'orks 

Upper  Forest 

Morriston  .  .  . 

g 

Other  blast  furnace  plants. 
Total  

8 

69 

84 

and  14  per  cent,  of  all  the  export  coke.  It  made  about  10  per  cent, 
of  all  the  pig-iron  and  21  per  cent,  of  all  the  steel.  The  make  of 
puddled  iron  is  small.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  there  are  no 
cheap  native  ores  and  it  does  not  pay  to  put  iron  from  Spanish  ores 
into  puddled  bar. 

Fig.  XXIII-F  shows  a  ground  plan  of  the  new  open-hearth  plant 
and  plate  mill  of  the  Dowlais  Iron  Company  at  Cardiff,  this  being 
one  of  the  best  arranged  plants  in  Great  Britain.  Table  XXIII-M 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


517 


TABLE  XXIII-N. 
Production  of  Pig  Iron  in  South  Wales  and  Monmouthshire. 


Average  for  period  per  year  ; 
tons. 

Glamorganshire. 

Monmouthshire. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive  .  .  . 

380,361 

490,857 

871  218 

1886  to  1890  inclusive 

369447 

421,772 

791  219 

1891  to  1895  inclusive 

438333 

269386 

707719 

1896  to  1900  inclusive  .  . 

479,361* 

294,256* 

773,617 

1901  to  1903  inclusive 

521058* 

220908* 

741  966 

*  The  Home  Office  Reports,  beginning  in  1900,  combines  North  and  South  Wales. 
I  have  assumed  that  Denbigh,  in  North  Wales,  makes  20,000  tons  of  pig  iron  per  year, 
and  Flint  30,000  tons. 

TABLE  XXIII-0. 

Imports  of  Ore  on  the  Bristol  Channel. 


Average  for  period  per 
year;  tons. 

Cardiff. 

Newport. 

Swansea. 

Others. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive.. 

544,000 

697000 

153000 

1000 

1  395000 

1886  to  1890  inclusive 

528000 

693  000 

123000 

4  000 

1  348000 

1891  to  1895  inclusive.  . 

601,000 

430'000 

150000 

2000 

1  183000 

1896  to  1900  inclusive. 

693000 

475000 

218000 

1  000 

1  388  000 

1901  to  1903  inclusive  

769,000 

316000 

169000 

3000 

1257000 

gives  the  principal  plants  in  the  district,  and  Tables  XXIII-N 
and  0  give  certain  statistics. 

SEC.  XXIIIe. — Lancashire  and  Cumberland: 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  M.  While,  general  manager  of  the  Barrow  Works,  for  reading 
the  manuscript  relating  to  this  district. 

The  county  of  Lancaster  reaches  across  Morecambe  Bay  and 
includes  Barrow-in-Furness  and  the  Barrow  Steel  Works.  It  is  in 
this  detached  portion  of  Lancashire  and  the  neighboring  portion 
of  Cumberland  that  all  the  ore  is  raised  and  a  great  part  of  the 
iron  and  steel  made.  It  is  the  custom,  however,  to  keep  the  records 
by  geographical  lines,  and  the  output  of  Barrow-in-Furness  is  com- 
bined with  the  output  of  South  Lancashire  and  sometimes  with 
that  of  Derby.  This  last  named  county  produces  no  ore,  but  its 
output  of  both  coal  and  pig-iron  is  two-thirds  as  much  as  Lan- 
cashire. 

The  especial  feature  of  Cumberland  and  northwest  Lancashire  is 
the  deposit  of  what  are  known  as  West  Coast  hematites.  Up  to 
1830  these  beds  were  little  known  and  no  pig-iron  was  smelted  in 
either  Cumberland  or  Lancashire.  In  1854  the  production  of  ore 


518 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


was  579,000  tons,  but  this  was  sent  to  South  Wales  and  South  Staf- 
fordshire. In  1860  the  output  had  increased  to  990,000,  in  1870 
it  was  2,093,000,  and  in  1882  it  reached  3,136,000  tons.  With  this- 
great  development  of  the  ore  beds,  blast  furnaces  sprang  up  both 
in  Cumberland  and  northwest  Lancashire,  and  in.  1860  there  were 
169,000  tons  of  pig-iron  smelted.  In  1870  this  had  increased  to 
678,000  tons,  while  in  1882  the  record  was  1,792,000  tons. 

The  imports  of  ore  on  the  West  Coast  at  that  time  averaged 
about  300,000  tons  per  year,  but  these  were  manganiferous  ores  and 
were  used  in  making  spiegel.  In  the  early  eighties  the  West  Coast 
hematites  played  an  important  part  in  the  international  iron  in- 
dustry. A  large  quantity  of  the  pig-iron  was  exported,  much  of  it 
to  America,  its  low  phosphorus  content  rendering  it  especially  valu- 
able for  acid  Bessemer  work.  That  day  has  passed  away,  and  the 
deposits  are  thinning  out.  In  1903  there  were  only  1,490,549  tons 
of  ore  mined,  or  less  than  half  the  output  in  1882. 

The  ore  now  produced  may  be  roughly  divided  into  two  classes, 
the  output  of  the  famous  Hodbarrow  mine  constituting  a  class  by 
itself. 


Hodbarrow. 

Other  Mines. 

Fe,  per  cent  

49 

P,  per  cent  

59 

01 

SiOji  per  cent  

6.0 

18 

Price  per  ton  at  mines  in  1899  

4.86 

3  73 

Price  per  ton  at  mines  in  1900 

5  60 

4  25 

Price  per  unit  at  mines  in  1899  

8.24 

7  6 

Price  per  unit  at  mines  in  1900 

9  5 

8  68 

Many  of  the  mines  are  exhausted,  while  others  spend  large 
sums  of  money  in  exploration.  The  supply  at  one  mine  has  been 
prolonged  by  building  a  sea-wall  through  an  arm  of  a  bay  and 
pumping  the  pond  dry.  The  sueeess  of  this  undertaking  led  to  a 
larger  project  along  the  same  line,  when  the  newly  won  territory 
showed  signs  of  exhaustion.  The  pig-iron  production  of  this  dis- 
trict has  been  maintained  by  the  importation  of  Spanish  ores,  the 
output  having  remained  nearly  constant  for  twenty  years.  Some 
of  the  coke  is  brought  from  Durham,  which  is  111  miles  from  Bar- 
row, with  a  freight  rate  of  $1.22  per  gross  ton,  and  some  from  West 
Yorkshire,  a  distance  of  117  miles  from  Barrow,  the  freight  being 
$1.32  per  ton. 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


519 


Lancaster  and  Cumberland  in  the  year  1903  produced  26,724,480 
tons  of  coal,  or  12  per  cent,  of  the  total,  almost  all  from  Lancashire. 
The  production  of  pig-iron  was  1,485,785  tons,  or  17  per  cent,  of  the 

TABLE  XXIII-P. 
Iron  and  Steel  Plants  in  Cumberland  and  Lancashire. 


Name  of  Works. 

Location 

Blast  Fur- 
naces. 

Bessemer  Con- 
verters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Barrow  Hem.  S.  Co  
London  &  Northwest- 
ern   

Barrow  in  Furness. 
Crewe 

12 

4 

4 

7 
10 

Moss  Bay  

Workington 

4 

3 

10 

1 

CammeU,  Laird  &  Co.  . 
Bolton  I  &  S.  Co 

\Vorkington 

Bolton 

5 

WiganC.  &  I.  Co... 

Wigan 

10 

6 

Salford 

\fanchester 

2 

Millom  &  Askam  Co..  . 
Oarnforth  Hem.  I.  &  S. 
Co  

Askham  

9 
4 

North  Lonsdale  I.  &  S. 
Co 

4 

8 

5 
25 

Cammell  &  Co  -j 

Derwent  1 

Northwestern  H.  I.  & 
S   Co 

Solway  j 

Others  

Total 

81 

21 

25 

6 

total,  while  the  steel  constituted  16  per  cent,  of  the  outturn  of  the 
Kingdom.  There  were  also  produced  132,588  tons  of  puddled  bar, 
being  14  per  cent,  of  the  total  output.  Almost  all  this  was  made 
in  Lancashire. 

The  principal  plants  are  given  in  Table  XXIII-P,  the  Barrow 
Works  being  in  northwest  Lancashire,  in  Barrow-in-Furness,  and 

TABLE  XXIII-Q. 
Output  of  Ore  and  Pig-iron  on  the  West  Coast. 


< 

)re  Raised. 

Pig  Iron. 

Average  for 

period  per  year  ; 

tons. 

Cumber- 
land. 

Lanca- 
shire. 

Total. 

Cumber- 
land. 

Lanca- 
shire. 

TotaL 

1882  to  1885  incl.  . 
1886  to  1890  incl.  . 

1,447,678 
1,468,326 

1,307,547 
1,101,026 

2,755,225 
2,569,352 

747,728 
739,001 

854,834 
849,554 

1,602,562 

1,588,555 

1891  to  1895  incl.  . 
1896  to  1900  incl.  . 
1901  to  1903  incl.  . 

1,325,455 
1,213,332 
1,068,219 

873,088 

730,142 
471,564 

2,199,083 
1,943,474 
1,539,783 

608,030 
718,577 
816,694 

676,153 
857,718 
669,462 

1,284,183 
1,576,295 
1,486156 

520 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


the  other  large  works  in  Cumberland.  The  furnaces  of  Millom 
and  Askam  Company  make  iron  for  the  open  market,  and  one  of 
them,  started  in  August,  1901,  is  built  on  modern  American  lines. 
Tables  XXIII-Q  and  R  give  statistics  concerning  this  district. 
The  imports  at  Chester,  Liverpool  and  Manchester  are  grouped  sepa- 

TABLE  XXIII-R. 
Imports  of  Ore  at  Ports  on  the  West  Coast. 


Average  for 
period  per  year  ; 
tons. 

Barrow. 

Maryport. 

Working- 
ton. 

Chester, 
Liverpool 
and  Man- 
chester. 

Others. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  incl.  .  . 
1886  to  1890  incl.  .  . 
1891  to  1895  incl.  .  . 
1896  to  1900  incl.  .  . 
1901  to  1903  incl.  .  . 

10,000 
34,000 
30.000 
247,000 
322,000 

15,000 
122,000 
62,000 
386,000 
455,000 

36,000 
23,000 
3,000 
113,000 
152,000 

126,000 
112,000 
64,000 
81,000 
87,000 

90,000 
26,000 
6,000 
55,000 
108000 

277,000 
317,000 
165,000 
882,000 
1,124,000 

rately,  as  these  ports  supply  a  different  region  from  the  northern 
points.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the  imports  at  these  more 
southern  harbors  goes  to  furnaces  outside  of  Lancashire. 

SEC.  XXIIIf.— South  Yorkshire: 

The  district  of  South  and  West  Yorkshire  includes  the  historic 
works  of  Bradford,  Leeds  and  Sheffield.  It  has  never  been  a  great 

TABLE  XXIII-S. 
Iron  and  Steel  Plants  in  South  Yorkshire. 


Name  of  Works. 

Location. 

Blast  Fur- 
naces. 

BessemerCon- 
verters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Brown,Bayley  &  Co.,Attercliffe. 
Bessemer,  H.,  &  Co.,  Bessemer.  . 
Fox,  Samuel,  &  Co.  .  . 

Sheffield.. 

2 
2 
2 
2 

4 

2 

i 

Steel,  Peach  &  Tozer,  Phoenix.  . 
Cammell,  Laird  &  Co  

i 

3 
6 

i 

Cammell,  Laird  &  Co. 

Penistone. 
Leeds  
Sheffield.. 

........ 

5 

3 

4 

Scott,  Walter,  Leeds  Steel  Wks. 
Parkgate  Iron  Co  

4 

1 
5 
4 
4 
3 
7 

5 

Brown,  J.,  &  Co.,  Atlas.  .  . 
Firth  &  Sons,  Norfolk  

Vickers,  Sons  &  Maxim 

i 

Hadfield  St.  Fdy  Co  ... 
Others  

i 

W.  Yorkshire  Iron  and  Coal  Co. 
Lowmoor  Co,  

5 

4 

Others  

6 

Total...  

26 

39 

5 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 


521 


producer  of  iron  ore  or  of  pig-iron,  but  Sheffield  was  known  five 
hundred  years  ago  as  a  maker  of  steel,  and  it  was  here  that  the 
crucible  process  had  its  birth.  The  present  importance  of  the  dis- 
trict conies  from  the  old  established  works  and  the  subsidiary  steel- 
using  establishments  and  finishing  mills  that  have  grown  up  around 
some  of  the  landmarks  of  the  iron  trade. 

This  district  makes  about  280,000  tons  of  pig-iron  per  year,  or 
3  per  cent,  of  the  total  output ;  it  makes  550,000  tons  of  steel,  this 
being  12  per  cent,  of  the  total  of  the  Kingdom.  It  also  makes  125,- 
000  tons  of  puddled  bar,  or  13  per  cent,  of  the  total.  The  principal 

TABLE  XXIII-T. 

Output  of  Pig-iron  in  South  Yorkshire  (Sheffield). 


Period. 

Average  per  Yaer; 
Tons. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive.  .  . 

259,995 

1886  to  1890  inclusive 

196,844 

1891  to  1895  inclusive  

213,045 

1896  to  1900  inclusive  

295,603 

1901  to  1903  inclusive 

276,491 

steel  works  in  the  district  are  shown  in  Table  XXIII-S,  and  the 
yearly  output  of  pig-iron  in  Table  XXIII-T. 

SEC.  XXIIIg.— Staffordshire: 

It  is  customary  to  divide  this  county  into  a  northern  and  south- 
ern portion.  Forty  years  ago  the  south  produced  more  ore  than 
the  north  and  three  times  as  much  pig-iron.  The  ore  was  a  poor 
ironstone  imbedded  in  the  shale  of  the  coal  formations,  but  the  de- 
posit has  slowly  become  exhausted  and  it  is  necessary  to  excavate  so 
much  shale  that  the  selected  ore  is  expensive.  For  these  reasons 
the  mining  of  ore  has  almost  ceased  in  this  southern  portion  and 
the  furnaces  run  on  hematite  from  Lancashire  or  Spain,  blackband 
from  North  Staffordshire,  or  the  cheap  but  silicious  ores  of  North- 
amptonshire, which  need  be  hauled  only  60  miles. 

In  North  Staffordshire  the  ore  consists  mainly  of  blackband. 
Bell  gives  the  details  of  the  occurrence  in  one  mine  as  follows : 

(1)  Blackband  14  inches  thick  lying  on  the  top  of  18  inches  of 
poor  coal. 

(2)  "Red  slag  ironstone"  16  inches  thick  lying  above  2  feet  of 
poor  coal. 


522 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


(3)  "Red  mine  stone"  20  inches  thick  with  18  inches  of  coal. 

There  is  also  a  bed  of  clay  ironstone  3J  feet  in  thickness.  The 
yield  of  pig-iron  from  the  calcined  blackband  is  50  per  cent.  The> 
amount  raised  is  750,000  tons  per  year,  so  that  this  deposit  is  of  no> 
small  economic  interest. 

The  whole  county  in  1903  produced  13,037,553  tons  of  coal,  or 
6  per  cent,  of  the  total  output;  738,549  tons  of  ore,  or  6  per  cent,  of 
the  total,  almost  all  being  in  the  northern  portion ;  585,330  tons  of 
pig-iron  or  7  per  cent,  of  the  total,  and  392,737  tons  of  steel,  or  8 
per  cent,  of  the  total. 

The  county  also  made  306,000  tons  of  puddled  bar,  which  is  one- 
third  of  the  entire  output  of  Great  Britain.  Two-thirds  of  this  is 
made  in  South  Staffordshire.  This  is  the  only  district  in  Great 
Britain  where  the  puddling  industry  is  holding  its  own. 

Table  XXIII-U  gives  the  annual  output  of  ore  and  pig-iron. 

TABLE  XXIII-U. 

Output  of  Ore  and  Pig-Iron  in  North  and  South  Staffordshire. 


Ore  Raised. 

Pig  Iron. 

Average  for  period  per 

year  ;  tons. 

North. 

South. 

Total. 

North. 

South. 

Total. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive  
1886  to  1890  inclusive  
1891  to  1895  inclusive  .  .  . 

1,774,205 
1^272,784 
885,922 

106,567 

68,422 
39,501 

1,880,772 
1,341,208 
925,423 

277,167 

260,973 
215,279 

272,292 

281,090 
290.651 

549,459 

542,063 
505,930 

1896  to  1900  inclusive  
1901  to  1903  inclusive  

982,733 
757,173 

42,115 
36,125 

1,024,848 
793,298 

260,610 
239,995 

325,572 
316,467 

586,182 
556,462 

SEC.  XXIIIh. — The  Eastern  Central  District;  Lincoln,  Leices- 
ter and  Northampton;  and  the  Central  District;  Derby  and  Not- 
tingham : 

The  eastern  shore  of  England,  just  south  of  the  Humber,  is  not 
usually  regarded  as  one  of  the  great  iron  centers  of  the  world,  but 
it  is  of  considerable  consequence.  Lincoln,  Leicester  and  North- 
ampton in  1903  produced  one-third  of  all  the  ore  raised  in  Great 
Britain,  and  made  more  pig-iron  than  Staffordshire. 

The  ore  of  Lincolnshire  is  an  oolite,  occurring  in  a  bed  from 
ten  to  twenty  feet  thick,  and  is  easily  mined.  It  is  only  two  or 
three  feet  below  the  surface  and  is  worked  in  open  quarry.  Bell 
gives  the  composition  for  each  foot  in  depth  for  eight  successive  feet, 
stating  that  the  results  are  typical.  In  the  wet  state  the  iron  was 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


523 


from  21  to  3?  per  cent.,  and  .in  the  dry  state  from  21  to  45  per  cent. 
The  ore  is  sorted  by  hand-and-eye  inspection,  and  the  average  prod- 
uct in  a  dry  state  carries  34  per  cent,  of  iron  with  6  per  cent,  of 
silica  and  28  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid  and  lime,  the  latter  making 
the  ore  self-fluxing.  It  is  even  a  little  too  calcareous  and  needs 
mixing  with  a  silicious  ore.  Its  value  is  given  as  75  cents  at  the 
mines.  The  ore  was  once  a  carbonate,  but  by  exposure  has  changed 
to  a  hydrated  peroxide  and  is  used  without  calcining.  Northampton 
raises  an  increasing  amount  of  a  lean  and  silicious  iron  ore,  some 
of  which  is  smelted  near  by,  and  the  rest  sent  to  Staffordshire  and 
elsewhere.  The  ore  gives  38  per  cent,  in  the  pig-iron,  and  is  worked 
in  the  open  from  a  bed  18  feet  thick.  After  paying  royalty  the  ore 
can  be  delivered  at  near-by  furnaces  for  65  cents  per  ton.  This  gives 
a  cost  of  $1.70  for  the  ore  per  ton  of  pig-iron,  but  the  high  silica 
renders  the  smelting  costly. 

The  deposits  in  this  part  of  England  are  related  geologically  to 
the  Cleveland  beds  and  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  southern  out- 
crop. The  use  of  these  lean  ores  is  a  recent  development,  just  as  in 
Luxemburg  the  Minette  deposit  has  come  only  recently  into  promi- 
nence. In  1830  there  were  only  5300  tons  of  iron  made  from  the  lean 
ores  of  Cleveland  and  Lincolnshire.  In  1860  Cleveland  mined 
1,480,000  tons  of  ore,  and  by  1870  this  had  risen  to  4,300,000  tons, 
and  by  1880  to  6,260,000  tons.  The  increase  has  not  continued  in 

TABLE  XXIII-V. 
Output  of  Ore  and  Pig-iron  in  Eastern  Central  England. 


Ore  Raised. 

Pig  Iron. 

Average  for  period 

per  year  ;  tons. 

Lei- 
cester. 

Lincoln. 

North- 
ampton. 

Total. 

Lincoln 
and  Lei- 
cester. 

North- 
ampton. 

TotaL 

1882  to  1885  inclusive. 
1886  to  1890  inclusive. 
1891  to  1895  inclusive. 

283,748 

49S.4--3 

5<>->.a->: 

1,233,075 
1,291,550 
1,364,279 

1,265,739 

l.Hti.*>4 
1.019.200 

2,782,562 
2.896,797 
2.976,436 

233,352 
279.493 
294,749 

198,807 
225,390 
198,824 

432,159 

504,483 
493.573 

1896  to  1900  inclusive. 
1901  to  1903  inclusive. 

708377 

676,738 

1.841,955 
1,747,209 

1.467,393 
1,705,900 

4,017,725 
4,129,847 

8801,815 

364,785 

260,466 
235,639 

641,281 
600,424 

Cleveland,  which  in  1903  mined  only  5,677,560  tons,  but  the  mines 
of  the  southern  district  are  coming  to  the  front.  In  1860  this 
region  raised  only  118,000  tons:  in  1870,  1,048,000  tons;  in  1880, 
2,766,000  tons;  while  in  1903  the  output  of  the  three  counties  of 


524 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXIII-W. 
Output  of  Pig-iron  in  Central  England. 


Average  for  period  per  year  ;  tons. 

Derbyshire  and 
Nottingham. 

1882  to  1885  inclusive         

437354 

1886  to  1890  inclusive 

387  794 

1891  to  1895  inclusive    

417,139 

1896  to  1900  inclusive 

521  &57 

1901  to  1903  inclusive  

507.825 

Lincoln,  Leicester  and  Northampton  reached  4,479,578  tons.  Thus, 
although  the  production  of  the  Cleveland  district  has  fallen  since 
1880,  the  total  production  of  the  lean  ores  from  this  geological 
horizon  has  increased  from  9,026,000  to  10,157,138  tons.  Estimat- 
ing the  average  iron  content  of  the  ore  at  32  per  cent,  and  the  iron 
in  the  pig  at  93  per  cent.,  this  amount  of  ore  represents  about 
3,500,000  tons  of  pig-iron,  or  about  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  pig- 
iron  made  in  the  kingdom.  Tables  XXIII-V  and  W  give  statistics 
on  the  iron  industry  of  this  district. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


GERMANY. 

In  discussing  the  German  iron  industry  I  have  been  guided  mainly  by  personal  knowl- 
edge of  the  different  districts.  There  were  also  at  hand  a  series  of  letters  by  Kirchhoff 
in  The  Iron  Age,  May,  1900.  The  data  on  steel  works,  blast  furnaces  and  puddling 
furnaces  are  taken  from  the  Gemeinfassliche  Darstellung  des  Eisenhuttenwessens,  and 
the  boundaries  of  the  districts  are  reproduced  from  drawings  and  descriptions  made 
out  for  me  by  Dr.  Wedding,  of  Berlin.  The  manuscript  of  the  first  edition  was  sub- 
mitted both  to  Dr.  Wedding  and  to  Herr  Schrodter,  editor  of  Stahl  und  Eisen,  and  since 
this  book  was  published  it  has  been  read  by  other  friends  in  Germany,  and  I  am  in- 
debted particularly  to  Mr.  Franz  J,  Miiller,  General  Director  of  the  Rheinische  Steel- 
works at  Ruhrort,  and  to  O.  von  Kraewel,  Superintendent  of  the  same  company,  for  a 
critical  review,  the  information  derived  from  them  during  a  visit  to  Ruhrort  being  used 
in  revising,  for  later  editions,  both  tnis  chapter  on  Germany  and  the  account  of  the 
basic  Bessemer  process ; 

SECTION  XXIVa. — Statistics. — Germany  recognizes  three  kinds 
of  product:  (1)  ingots  for  sale;  (2)  half -finished  product;  (3)  fin- 
ished product ;  but  if  one  works  sell  ingots  to  another,  and  the  sec- 
ond makes  billets  and  sells  them  to  a  third  mill  for  rerolling,  then 
this  steel  is  put  into  the  total  three  separate  times.  A  large  amount 
is  actually  added  twice,  because  almost  all  the  wire  mills  in  Ger- 
many are  independent.  Within  the  last  few  years  the  production 
of  ingots  has  been  collected,  but  before  that  time  no  statistics  were 

TABLE  XXIV-A. 
Approximate  Annual  Output  of  Ore  and  Pig-iron  in  Germany. 


Ore. 

Pig  Iron. 

Rhenish  Westphalia 

210000 

4,010,000 

Lothringen 

10  680000 

1,980,000 

Luxemburg..  •  .  . 

6010000 

1,230,000 

Silesia  . 

390000 

750,000 

The  Soar  

740,000 

The  Siegen  and  Lahn    

3180666 

720,000 

Hanover 

800000 

360,000 

Other  districts  

750000 

300,000 

Total  

22,000000 

10,090,000 

525 


526 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


reliable,  and  even  now  no  data  are  published  as  to  the  output  of 
separate  districts.  I  am  able,  however,  in  Table  XXIV-C  to  pre- 
sent, for  the  first  time  in  any  publication,  a  reasonably  accurate  es- 


timate  by  high  authority  of  the  output  of  steel  in  different  districts. 
The  general  statistical  situation  is  shown  in  Tables  XXIV-A,  B 
anAQ. 


GERMANY. 


527 


TABLE  XXIY-B. 
Movement  of  Ore  in  Germany  in  the  Year  1899. 


District. 

Lothringen 
and  Lux- 
emburg. 

Ruhr. 

Silesia. 

Pomerania. 

Ore  raised                     .« 

12  987  152 

212  794 

476  823 

1  807  421 

1.271,052  . 

"          Austria  

33,787 

1  884  769 

124,200 

"          "     Sweden      

1  384  447 

275  406 

329  705 

1,337,000 

Broueht  from  the  Siegen,  the  Lahn  and 

4,734,600 

TABLE  XXIV-C. 
Output  of  Ingots  in  Germany  for  Twelve  Months,  1902-03. 


District. 

Acid 
Bessemer. 

Basic 
Bessemer. 

Acid 
Open 
Hearth. 

Basic 
Open 
Hearth, 

TotaL 

The  Ruhr  

240.000 

2,246,000 

176,000 

1,667,000 

4,329,000 

Silesia      

55000 

242,000 

292,000 

589,000 

953000 

45000 

998000 

408000 

408,000 

867000 

luOOO 

160000 

1  037000 

10,800 

40,000 

7,200 

85,000 

143,000 

Siegerland  

154000 

154000 

287,000 

46,006 

333,000 

Ilsede-Peine  

239000 

239,000 

Osnabruck.  . 

29000 

30000 

59000 

100000 

30,000 

130,000 

Total  

334,800 

5,382,000 

193,200 

2,509,000 

8,419,000 

SEC.  XXIVb. — Lothringen  and  Luxemburg: 

The  province  of  Lothringen  is  the  old  French  Lorraine.  Follow- 
ing its  incorporation  into  Germany,  not  only  was  its  name  changed, 
but  every  town  received  either  a  new  name  or  a  German  prefix  or 
suffix.  This  was  natural,  for  it  is  impossible  for  German  or  Eng- 
lish people  to  pronounce  many  of  the  French  names,  and  it  would 
have  been  absurd  to  have  a  German  city  called  by  a  name  that  nine- 
tenths  of  the  inhabitants  could  not  pronounce.  Many  maps  of 
Lothringen  contain  the  old  names,  and  these  are  used  exclusively 
in  France  and  Belgium,  and  widely  in  England  and  America,  while 
the  term  Lorraine  is  known  to  a  hundred  Americans  where 
Lothringen  is  known  to  one.  This  change,  natural  though  it  is, 
entails  endless  confusion  upon  the  traveler,  who  might  guess  that 


528 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


V/^  ^  •  > 

B      Ev    r      G,     I      U      M      (  S 


THE  MDTETTE  DISTRICT 

OF  IOTHRINGEN, 
EUXEMBURG  AND  FRAFCE 

^2 Limits  of  Iron.  District 

Dots  indicate>Blast  Eurnaces 

Plants  S       SCALE  OF  MILE8 

01284^678   9  I'o 


PIG.  XXIV-B. 


GERMANY. 


529 


TABLE  XXIV-D. 

Composition  of  Ores  from  Lothringen  and  Luxemburg  and  Data 
showing  the  Thickness  of  the  Beds,  and  Thickness  of  Inter- 
mingled Strata  of  Earth  and  Limestone,  arranged  from 
Schrodter,  Stahl  und  Eisen,  March  15,  1896.  Also  data  from 
Wedding,  Eisenhiittenkunde,  Zweite,  1897,  p.  59;  Kohlmann, 
Stahl  und  Eisen,  Vol.  XVIII,  p.  593 ;  and  .Stahl  und  Eisen, 
Vol.  XX,  p.  1266. 

Note ;  the  boreholes  are  at  different  points  in  the  Aumetz  Arsweiler  district. 


Strata  and  Thickness  in  Feet. 

Fe 

Mn 

P 

SiO, 

CaO 

Al,0, 

Schrodter 
Depth  Thickness   Character 
Borehole  from          of               of 
Surface     Layer         Deposit 
A           0             16      Red  saud.  .  .  . 

25.6 

33.3 

9  4 

16             10      Red  sand.... 

26  6 

31.3 

9  5 

26             41      Lime  &  clay. 

67               9      Red  Minette 

30  7 

7  5 

21  5 

5  7 

77               1      Red  Minette. 

38  5 

9.2 

12  1 

6  9 

78              3      Red  Minette 

32  4 

10  0 

19  8 

5  8 

81              7      Red  ore 

39  4 

7  7 

11  6 

4  9 

107             13      Gray  ore  .... 

33  7 

7  6 

20  0 

4  i 

.  .  •  •  •  • 

136             14      Brown  ore  .  . 

l.*>  1 

8  0 

4  i 

150               3      Blk   Minette 

21  0 

21  3 

"5  3 

15  7 

163              12      Black  ore... 

41.1 

10  7 

46 

6  0 

165               3      Black  ore... 

33.0 

...... 

168               3      Black  ore... 

171                2       Black  ore... 

37.0 

7.0 

B            0             13      S  limestone. 

13               5       R  sandy  ore 

21  0 

15  o 

18             25      8.  limestone. 

43               4      Red  ore  
47             17      S.  limestone. 

24.0 



0.53 



24.0 





64               6      Red  ore  

69               6      S  limestone. 

27.0 



0.59 



22.5 





75               7      Red  ore  
82             18      Marl  

28.0 







20.0 





100             17      Gray  ore.... 
117                3       Earth  

380 



0.84 



12.0 

6.0 



120               7      Gray  ore.... 
127             19      Earth  

35.0 



0.91 



12.9 

6.3 



146              10       Brown  ore  .  . 
156               9       Earth  

39.3 



0.82 



6.3 

7.7 



165               5      Black  

36  9 

0  86 

6  8 

6  7 

170               4       Earth  

. 

174               4       Ore  

CO              9      Limestone.  .  . 

36.4 



0.57 



6.2 

4.5 



9               6      R.  sandy  ore 

26.9 

20  0 

18             27      L'stone  marl 

42               4      Yellow  ore.. 
46               8       Blue  marl... 

21.3 







19.5 





54               2      Gray  ore  .... 
56               6      Gray  ore  .  .  . 

35.0 
49  6 







12.0 
6  5 





62               7      Gray  ore  .  . 

31  4 

15  2 

69               3       Gray  ore  .... 

33.3 

12  3 

72               2      Gray  ore  .... 
D            0              81       R  sand,  marl 

29.8 





11.7 





81              12       Red  lime  ore 

44  5 

11.6 

6  3 

93               14       Poor    M.    & 

530 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXIV-D— Continued. 


Strata  and  thickness  in  feet. 

Fe 

Mn 

P 

SiO2 

CaO 

A1208 

107             20      Gray  ore  .... 

45.6 

12  5 

4    5 

127             12      Blue  marl... 

139             16      Brown  ore  . 

39  6 

25  5 

3  9 

E            0             95      Lime  ores... 

95              20      Gray  ore  .... 

37  6 

12  3 

1Q  2 

115             15      Marl     

130             18      Brown  ore  .  . 

35.8 

21  1 

6  4 

148             14      Black  ore... 

42  0 

17  0 

3  0 

t           0               8      Red  sand  .  .  . 

CO, 

8              38      Earth  

46              3      Red  ore  

29.4 

8.3 

30.4 

5.9 

16.0 

49             19      Earth  

68               2      Yellow    .... 

34  7 

8  7 

15  7 

5  § 

12  9 

70              12       Earth  

82               5      Yellow  
87               6       Earth  

28.3 





17.9 

14.4 

8.3 

11.3 

93             13      Gray  

34.1 

10.7 

14  2 

6.6 

106              21       Earth  

38.8 

16.2 

4.7 

7.8 

134                8       Earth  

21  8 

6  9 

6  1 

42  9 

tr 

0  54 

9  9 

14  8 

4.7 

H,O 
6  3 

Red  Silicious 

34  5 

0  7 

0  32 

23  6 

12  0 

5  8 

8  6 

Gray  

38  9 

0  92 

9  5 

12.3 

2.3 

17  5 

Brown  

21  5 

0  71 

16  5 

21  0 

6.4 

25  1 

Green  .... 

33  4 

0  4 

0  88 

24  4 

2  7 

10  3 

15  0 

Btahl  und  Eisen. 
Rumelange  Dudelange.. 
Esch  i  .... 

33.2 
40.7 
39.5 

0.6 
0.4 

0.4 

0.80 
1.00 
1.00 

6.8 
7.5 
13.4 

16.3 
7.7 
6.4 

5.2 
4.7 
6.1 

Differdange  laMadelaine 
Kohlmann. 
Black  ;  thickness  18  feet  

27.6 
39.2 
18.2 

32  to  45 

0.3 
0.4 
0.2 

0.72 
0.81 
0.53 

42.0 
16.1 
8.5 

11  to  22 

4.9 
5.3 
33.3 

2to7 

4.6 
6.4 
2.3 

6 

Brown  ;  6  to  12  feet  

36  to  45 

5  to  21 

4  to  9 

Gray  calcareous  

32  to  41 

5  to  15 

4  to  14 

4  to  6 

Yellow  calcareous  ;  15  feet  

32  to  36 

7  to  9 

10  to  15 

Red  calcareous  ;  6  to  12  feet  

34  to  40 

8  to  9 

9  to  15 

Red  silicious  

36 

26  to  27 

2  to  3 

Hayange  means  Hayingen,  and  Differdange,  Differ dingen,  but  can 
hardly  know  that  Diedenhofen  and  Thionville  are  the  same. 

Lothringen  is  a  part  of  the  Empire,  unlike  Luxemburg,  which  is 
merely  connected  with  it  through  a  tariff  treaty.  Both  districts  have 
the  same  characteristics,  and  rely  on  the  enormous  bed  of  iron  ore 
which  extends  beyond  their  borders  into  France  and  Belgium,  and 
whose  known  contents  will  supply  iron  for  many  generations.  This 
ore  goes  by  the  term  "Minette,"  a  contemptuous  diminutive  once 
given  it  by  French  workmen;  this  is  also  the  name  of  one  of  the 
French  provinces  in  which  it  occurs.  It  is  an  oolite,  consisting  of 
small  grains,  each  one  made  up  of  concentric  shells  of  silicious  or 
calcareous  matter  and  hydrous  ferric  oxide.  The  beds  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  Lothringen  carry  an  excess  of  lime,  but  near  the 


GERMANY.  531 

Luxemburg  border  is  a  deposit  high  in  silica  and  carrying  40  per 
cent,  of  iron,  so  that,  by  mixing,  a  self-fluxing  burden  can  be  ob- 
tained, and  the  usual  furnace  burden  throughout  the  district  runs 
31  per  cent,  in  iron  and  gives  2  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  in  the 
pig-iron. 

Table  XXIV-D  shows  the  composition  of  different  grades  of  ore. 
The  map  shown  in  Fig.  XXI V-B  was  originally  made  by  Dr.  Wed- 
ding, but  was  extended  by  Kirchhoff.  The  formation  is  made  up 
of  many  different  beds,  and  these  vary  in  thickness,  the  deposit  in 
the  north  being  180  feet  thick,  while  in  the  south  it  is  only  20  feet; 
but  there  is  no  regularity  at  intermediate  points,  either  in  thick- 
ness or  in  the  arrangement  of  interstratified  rocks,  and  there  is 
much  faulting,  in  some  cases  the  throw  being  200  feet.  As  we  go 
southwest  into  France  the  beds  go  down  into  the  ground,  get  less 
in  thickness  and  higher  in  silica.  In  Luxemburg  the  mines  are 
owned  partly  by  companies  that  acquired  ownership  many  years 
ago,  partly  by  railroads,  built  to  get  subsidies  in  ore  lands,  partly 
by  farmers  and  private  individuals,  while  part  is  controlled  by  the 
government.  Much  of  the  ore  in  Luxemburg  is  sold  in  the  open 
market,  while  in  Lothringen  nearly  all  the  property  is  in  the  hands 
of  iron  producers,  and  the  great  steel  works  in  both  Belgium  and 
Westphalia  have  acquired  title  to  mineral  lands.  The  ore  supply  in 
Luxemburg  is  good  for  one  hundred  years,  at  the  present  rate  of 
consumption,  but  in  Lothringen  for  eight  hundred  years.  The 
mineral  domain  of  this  latter  province  covers  one  hundred  thou- 
sand acres,  half  of  which  is  owned  by  local  steel  companies.  A  good 
part  of  the  remainder  is  owned  by  the  companies  operating  steel 
works  in  Westphalia.  Kirchhoff  mentions  the  following  as  having 
mines  in  Lothringen  and  works  in* the  Ehenish  district: 

Aachener  Hiitten  Act.  Verein,  Gutehoffnungshiitte,  Friederich 
Wilhelmshutte,  Phoenix,  Union,  Horde,  Hoesch,  Kheinische  and 
Krupp.  In  the  Saar  district  we  have  Gebruder  Stumm,  Eochlings, 
Burbach  and  Dillengen.  Belgium  is  represented  by  the  Angleur 
Company  and  by  Cockerills.  This  list  omits  the  local  steel  com- 
panies of  Lothringen,  all  of  which  have  their  own  properties. 

Considerable  ore  is  sold  in  the  open  market  in  Luxemburg,  but 
little  in  Lothringen,  so  that  the  selling  price  in  the  former  province 
will  be  a  better  measure  of  the  market.  Figures  given  by  Dutreux 
show  that  from  1895  to  1899  the  average  market  price  varied  from 


532  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

49  to  57  cents  per  ton,  with  a  general  average  of  52  cents.  The  cos.t 
to  those  who  possess  their  own  mines  must  be  less  than  this,  but  it 
is  hardly  likely  that  it  is  less  than  40  cents,  after  allowing  for  a 
sinking  fund.  The  run  of  mine  will  average  31  per  cent,  in  iron, 
but  the  ore  carried  to  Westphalia  is  richer  than  this.  It  will  run 
35  per  cent,  in  iron*  and  costs  75  cents  per  ton  at  the  mines.  The 
new  freight  rate  is  $1.40  per  ton,  giving  a  total  of  $2.15  per  ton 
of  ore  delivered  in  Westphalia,  or  6.14  cents  per  unit. 

If  the  ore  is  smelted  at  the  mine  it  is  necessary  to  carry  1J  tons 
of  coke  from  the  Euhr  to  Lothringen  at  a  cost  of  $1.82  per  ton  of 
coke,  as  the  freight  on  fuel  in  Germany  is  one  cent  per  ton  per 
mile.  This  does  not  include  the  cost  at  the  ovens,  estimated  by 
Kirchhoff  to  be  $2  for  those  who  own  collieries,  so  that  the  cost 
of  fuel  in  Lothringen  will  be  $3.82  per  ton  of  coke  or  $4.80  per 
ton  of  iron.  The  ore  for  a  ton  of  pig  will  cost  $1.30,  so  that  the 
total  for  ore  and  fuel  sums  up  $6.10  in  Lothringen  and  $9.10  in 
Westphalia.  I  am  afraid  that  this  estimate  of  Kirchhoff  assumes  a 
good  profit  on  by-products,  but  allows  nothing  for  interest  and  de- 
preciation. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  Lothringen  is  not  a  great 
market.  To  the  southwest  is  the  frontier  of  France  and  the  French 
steel  works  working  on  the  same  deposit,  while  on  the  northwest 
are  the  cheap  labor  and  fuel  of  Belgium  tapping  the  ore  field  in 
Luxemburg.  To  the  south  is  the  mountain  barrier  of  Switzerland, 
to  the  east  the  coal  field  and  iron  works  of  the  Saar,  and  to  the 
north  the  smoking  valleys  of  the  Ehine  and  the  Ruhr.  The  steel 
must  be  carried  a  long  distance  and  past  the  doors  of  active  com- 
petitors. A  great  part  of  the  output  of  Germany  is  sent  over  sea 
and  a  large  part  consumed  in  finishing  mills  in  the  northern  dis- 
tricts, and,  inasmuch  as  the  coal  of  Westphalia  is  on  the  road  be- 
tween the  mines  and  the  market,  the  northern  works  need  not 
necessarily  succumb  to  the  Minette  district. 

There  is  a  chance  for  both  ends  working  together,  since  cheap 
transportation  must  include  ore  going  in  one  direction  and  coke  in 
the  other,  and  there  is  opportunity  for  reductions  in  charges.  The 
German  railroads  are  owned  by  the  government,  and  offer  a  good 
argument  against  State  control.  Like  all  German  official  work, 
they  are  conducted  with  honesty,  but  with  an  immense  amount  of 

*  Journal  I.  and  S.  I.,  Vol.  II,  1902,  p.  17. 


GERMANY.  533 

Ted  tape.  As  a  consequence  of  the  honesty  and  the  high  freight 
rates,  they  pay  a  profit,  but  on  account  of  the  red  tape  this  money 
defrays  the  expenses  of  the  military  establishment  instead  of  being 
used  to  improve  the  transportation  service.  A  great  deal  of  money 
is  spent  on  stations  for  passenger  traffic,  but  the  freight  service  is 
not  what  it  ought  to  be,  and  the  transportation  of  ore  from  Loth- 
ringen  to  Westphalia  costs  1  cent  per  ton  per  mile,  while  coke  and 
finished  material  are  from  30  to  50  per  cent.  more.  Private  owner- 
ship of  railroads  in  America  has  resulted  in  spending  money  for  im- 
provements, for  larger  cars  and  heavier  engines,  and  has  cut  down 
the  rates  far  below  the  German  tariff,  even  though  the  American 
roads  traverse  districts  more  sparsely  settled  than  the  western  prov- 
inces of  Germany. 

In  addition  to  the  questions  of  freight  which  have  been  dis- 
cussed, we  have  the  important  fact  that  Westphalia  possesses  old- 
fashioned  works  surrounded  by  communities  of  skilled  workmen. 
The  task  of  starting  a  steel  works  where  such  an  industry  has  not 
existed  before  is  hard  enough  in  America,  but  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world  it  is  still  harder,  for  in  our  land  men  are  accustomed  to 
move,  and  readily  break  away  from  old  associations.  A  more  im- 
portant matter  is  the  destruction  of  capital  involved  in  a  transfer 
of  the  iron  industry,  for  a  works  in  Westphalia  cannot  be  trans- 
ported bodily  to  Lothringen.  If  the  attempt  were  made  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  money  would  be  utilized,  and  this 
being  so  it  becomes  cheaper  to  destroy  the  old  and  to  build  anew. 
The  interest  and  depreciation  on  a  steel  works,  including  the  blast 
furnaces,  is  more  than  the  cost  of  transporting  the  ore  a  consider- 
able distance.  In  a  Westphalian  works,  which  is  all  paid  for  and 
has  no  outstanding  bonds,  the  depreciation  account  may  be  neglected 
and  the  interest  charges  looked  upon  as  profit,  while  in  a  new  works 
in  Lothringen  these  items  become  a  direct  load  upon  the  cost  sheet. 
Thus  we  find  many  different  ways  of  working.  The  old  plants  in 
the  Ruhr  are  buying  properties  in  Lothringen  and  bringing  ore  to 
their  furnaces  and  so  are  the  steel  works  in  the  valley  of  the  Saar. 
Other  plants  are  making  pig-iron  at  the  mines  and  sending  it  to 
Westphalia  and  to  Aachen,  while  still  other  works  are  being  built 
at  the  ore  bank,  the  coke  being  brought  from  the  Ruhr. 

The  production  of  the  whole  Minette  district,  including  Loth- 
lingen,  Luxemburg  and  France,  was  less  than  three  million  tons 


534  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

in  1872,  but  in  1895  it  had  risen  to  eleven  million  tons.  In  1898 
it  was  fifteen  million  and  in  1903  about  twenty-two  million,  of 
which  France  contributed  five  millions,  Luxemburg  six  millions  and 
Lothringen  eleven  millions. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  by  Kirchhoff  that  the  importance  of  the 
Minette  district  is  concealed  by  its  situation.  The  output  from  the 
whole  deposit  in  1903  was  twenty-two  million  tons,  which  would 
make  eight  million  tons  of  pig-iron,  but  this  is  divided  between 
three  nations,  and  even  the  portion  which  we  have  considered  as 
German  can  hardly  be  called  so  rightly,  since  Luxemburg  is  not  an 
integral  part  of  the  Empire.  Luxemburg  and  Lothringen,  in  1903, 
raised  three-quarters  of  all  the  ore  mined  in  Germany,  but  the  pro- 
duction of  pig-iron  in  the  Minette  field  was  only  three-quarters  as 
much  as  in  the  Euhr. 

In  1899  there  were  seventeen  active  blast  furnaces  in  Lothringen 
and  twenty  in  Luxemburg,  which  were  not  connected  with  steel 
works  in  those  provinces,  but  which  sold  their  iron  in  the  open  mar- 
ket or  shipped  it  to  the  Saar  or  the  Ruhr,  many  of  these  furnaces 
being  owned  and  operated  by  steel  works  in  these  two  districts. 
There  were  twenty-two  furnaces  in  Lothringen  and  nine  in  Luxem- 
burg connected  with  adjacent  steel  works,  so  that  less  than  half  the 
furnaces  in  the  district  were  owned  by  local  steel  plants. 

The  total  number  of  active  furnaces  in  1899  was  sixty-eight,  and 
the  production  of  pig-iron  was  2,273,194  tons  for  the  two  divisions, 
representing  an  average  of  a  little  over  90  tons  per  day  for  each 
furnace.  Such  a  calculation  of  average  capacity  is  not  usually  of 
much  value,  as  an  old  district  is  likely  to  have  a  number  of  small 
and  antiquated  plants,  but  in  the  official  list  published  by  the  Verein 
Deutscher  Eisenhiittenleute  there  are  no  very  small  furnaces  men- 
tioned in  these  two  provinces.  We  may  say,  therefore,  that  the 
average  furnace  in  the  Minette  district,  most  of  the  plants  being  of 
modern  construction,  turns  out  between  ninety  and  one  hundred 
tons  per  day,  some  of  them  exceeding  this  considerably.  This  is 
done  on  an  ore  running  only  31  per  cent,  in  iron,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  mixture  is  self-fluxing,  so  that  for  comparison  we  must 
take  the  ore  and  limestone  together  in  non-calcareous  ores,  and,  fig- 
uring in  this  way,  we  will  find  that  Lake  Superior  ores,  when  mixed 
with  the  usual  amount  of  stone,  give  about  45  per  cent,  of  iron,  so 
that  furnaces  working  on  Minette  ores  smelt  about  50  per  cent. 


GERMANY. 


535 


more  material  than  American  plants,  without  taking  into  account 
the  ash  in  the  fuel.    The  mixture  is  not  always  self -fluxing,  for  near 


the  Moselle  Kiver  the  calcareous  beds  are  scarce,  and  it  is  necessary 
to  use  limestone  as  a  flux. 

Most  of  the  blast  furnaces  use  Westphalian  coke,  the  shipments  in 
1899  from  the  Euhr  ovens  amounting  to  three  million  tons,  which 
was  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  coke  output  of  the  northern  field.  Some 


536 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


coke  is  imported  from  Belgium  by  plants  in  Luxemburg,  but  the 
German  article  is  far  superior.  There  are  three  steel  works  in  Loth- 
ringen  and  two  in  Luxemburg  having  twenty-six  converters  from 
ten  to  twenty  tons  capacity.  There  were  only  two  open-hearth  fur- 
naces, one  acid  and  one  basic.  All  the  converters  are  basic. 

Three  new  plants  were  started  in  the  year  1900,  at  Rombach^ 
Kneuttingen  and  Differdingen.  In  Fig.  XXIV-C  will  be  found  a 
drawing  of  the  first  of  these.  It  is  representative  of  the  best  Ger- 
man practice  and  was  started  in  1900.  The  engineer  is  Bergassessor 
Oswald,  of  Coblenz,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  drawings. 
There  are  seven  blast  furnaces  in  the  Rombach  plant,  three  of  them 
new,  the  latter  being  90  feet  by  23  feet  with  a  13-foot  hearth.  It 
is  intended  to  eventually  use  gas  engines  for  blowing,  and  save 
the  steam  for  the  reversing  rolling  mills.  To  this  end  the  boiler 
capacity  is  large,  the  pressure  being  140  pounds  and  economizers 
and  superheaters  installed.  There  are  two  mixers  each  of  200  tons, 
feeding  4  basic  17-ton  converters.  The  pig-iron  runs  from  1.5  to 
2.0  per  cent,  phosphorus  and  0.5  per  cent,  manganese,  this  latter 
element  being  obtained  from  ores  from  Spain,  the  Caucasus  and 
from  the  Lahn  district.  The  mixture  is  self-fluxing  and  runs  about 


TABLE  XXIV-E. 
Steel  Works  with  Blast  Furnaces  in  Lothringen  and  Luxemburg. 


District 
and  Works. 

Location. 

No.  of 
Blast 
Furnaces 
and  Daily 
Capacity 
in  Tons. 

Bessemer 
Converters.  Number 
and  Capacity 
in  Tons 

Open-  Hearth 
Furnaces  Number 
and  Capacity 
in  Tons. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Lothringen— 
Aumetz  Friede.. 
Rombacher,  etc.. 

DeWendel  &Co.. 

Luxemberg— 
Diidelingen.  etc.. 
Differdingen  

Kneuttingen  .... 
Rombach  
I  Hayincren  .  . 

3—130 
7    J4o 

4—20 
4—18 
6-12 
3—12 

6—  10 
3-20 

1-35 

1—15 

7-110 
6-110 

6—110 
4—120 

1  Gross-Moyeuvre  . 

Diidelingen  
Differdingen  

......... 





31  per  cent,  in  iron.  The  capacity  is  now  35,000  tons  per  month, 
but  this  is  to  be  much  increased.  The  Differdingen  plant  was  also 
constructed  with  lavish  expenditure  and  an  extensive  outfit  of 
blowing  engines  driven  by  blast-furnace  gas  was  installed.  Much 


GERMANY. 


537 


trouble  was  experienced  through  dust,  although  these  difficulties 
have  been,,  in  great  measure,  overcome. 

The  plant  of  De  Wendel  at  Hayingen  is  an  example  of  the  sys- 
tem of  spare  mills,  as  four  complete  mills,  each  with  its  modern 
German  multiple  cylinder  engine,  stand  waiting  their  turn  to  run, 
for  there  are  only  men  enough  to  run  two  mills  and  only  steel 
enough  for  that  number,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  are  operated 
in  a  very  slow  manner.  The  building  covering  these  mills  includes 
all  the  hot  beds,  finishing  machines,  storage  and  loading  yards,  and 
is,  perhaps,  700  feet  by  1000  feet,  not  including  the  converting  de- 
partment. The  output  is  about  400  tons  per  day. 

Table  XXIV-E  gives  a  list  of  the  steel  works  and  blast  furnaces. 

List  of  Blast  Furnaces  without  Steel  Works. 


Location. 

Owner. 

District. 

Blast  Furnaces. 

Owned  by  Steel 
Works  Elsewhere  — 

Feutsch  

Aurnetz  Friede 

Lothrinjren  .  . 

3—120 

Lothriugen  

Redingen  .  .         .  . 

Dillengen  

Saar^T 

2     90 

Diedenhof  en  .  .  . 

Rdchllng 

Saar 

2    150 

Ueckingen  

Gebrudei*  Stumn 

Saar.  ...'.... 

4    120 

Deutsch  Oth.... 
(  Esch 

Acieries  Angleur 
Rothe  Erde 

Belgium  

2—90 
5  190 

Luxemburg.  .  .  . 

}Esch  

Burbach  

Saar  

2—  130 

Unattached- 

7—120 

13—120 

SEC.  XXIVc.— The  Ruhr: 

The  Ruhr  district  embraces  most  of  Westphalia  and  a  little  of 
the  western  shore  of  the  Ehine.  It  is  here  we  find  the  coal  that 
gives  the  best  coke  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  though  it  is  not 
equal  to  the  coke  of  Durham  or  of  Connellsville.  The  Ruhr  coal 
district  measures  fifty  miles  square,  being  shown  on  the  map  in 
black  with  Ruhrort  on  the  western  end  and  Horde  on  the  east,  but 
coal  is  found  east  of  Horde  as  far  as  Hamm  and  extends  westward 
across  the  Rhine,  several  mines  having  recently  been  opened  on  the 
western  bank.  The  works  of  Krupp  at  Essen  are  almost  in  the  cen- 
ter. The  deposit  covers  an  area  equal  to  the  county  of  Westmore- 
land in  Pennsylvania  or  the  Durham  coal  field  in  northeast  Eng- 
land, but  Westmoreland  raises  only  ten  million  tons  of  coal  per 
3'ear,  Durham  about  forty-six  million  and  Westphalia  nearly  sixty 
million.  The  production  of  coke  in  the  Ruhr  is  the  same  as  in 


538 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Fayette  County,  Pennsylvania,  which,  includes  the  Connellsville 
beds.  The  output  of  Durham  is  not  known  accurately,  as  no  sta- 
tistics are  kept  in  England  of  this  material. 

The  Euhr  raises  half  of  all  the  bituminous  coal  raised  in  Ger- 
many, and  makes  two-thirvds  of  the  coke,  and,  in  addition  to  sup- 
plying western  Germany,  sends  coke  to  other  countries.  In  1899 
Germany  exported  750,000  tons  of  coke  to  France  and  135,000  tons 
to  Belgium,  almost  all  of  this  coming  from  Westphalia.  Austria 
received  600,000  tons,  but  part  was  from  Silesia.  The  product  of 
the  Westphalian  ovens,  however,  is  so  much  better  than  the  eastern 
supply  that  it  is  carried  in  large  quantities  as  far  as  Styria  in 
southern  Austria,  In  1892  the  Euhr  district  made  66  per  cent,  of 
all  the  coke  made  in  Germany,  but  in  1900  its  share  had  risen  to 
75  per  cent.  This  increase  in  rank  as  a  coke  producer  has  gone  on 
with  remarkable  regularity,  as  shown  in  Table  XXIV-F. 

TABLE  XXIV-F. 
Production  of  Coke  in  Germany,  by  Districts. 

Data  from  Schrodter;  private  communication.      One  unit=1000  metric  tons. 


District 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

Ruhr  

4560 

4780 

5398 

5562 

6266 

6872 

7,374 

8202 

9644 

Upper  Silesia       .         .  . 

1  060 

1  060 

1  122 

1  190 

1  269 

1  399 

1455 

1516 

1  411 

Lower  Silesia  

*325 

366 

416 

431 

'443 

424 

430 

460 

536 

gaar  

587 

574 

695 

713 

744 

821 

887 

876 

894 

Aachen 

259 

219 

207 

212 

310 

251 

259 

269 

267 

26 

27 

24 

.    27 

27 

31 

30 

33 

33 

fcaxony  

82 

73 

79 

70 

77 

78 

72 

74 

74 

Total  

6  899 

7099 

7  941 

8  205 

9  136 

9  876 

10,507 

11,430 

12,859 

Per  cent,  made  in  the  Ruhr. 

66 

67 

68 

68 

69 

70 

70 

72 

75 

The  exports  to  Belgium  are  balanced  by  coke  brought  into  Lux- 
emburg from  that  country,  the  amount  so  imported  being  greater 
than  the  amount  going  from  Westphalia  to  Liege.  Only  a  small 
proportion  of  the  furnaces  in  Luxemburg  import  coke,  and  the 
amount  sent  from  the  Ruhr  to  Lothringen  and  Luxemburg  in  1899 
amounted  to  2,783,000  tons,  or  nearly  40  per  cent,  of  the  coke  pro- 
duction of  Westphalia. 

The  coal  occurs  in  a  great  number  of  beds,  the  number  of  work- 
able seams  being  over  two  hundred,  but  none  over  six  feet  thick 
and  the  average  only  half  that.  The  thickness  of  the  coal  measures 


GERMANY.  539 

is  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  feet,  and  they  are  much  folded 
and  faulted.  In  the  southern  portion  the  outcropping  beds  are 
nearly  worked  out,  and  as  mines  have  been  opened  more  to  the 
north  it  has  been  necessary  to  sink  deeper,  one  shaft  going  down 
2500  feet  through  strata  heavily  charged  with  water.  When  it  is 
considered  that  there  is  more  trouble  from  gas  in  the  deeper  mines 
it  will  be  evident  that  conditions  do  not  indicate  any  decrease  in 
the  price  of  coal.  The  upper  beds  give  a  coal  containing  from  35 
to  45  per  cent,  of  volatile  matter,  the  middle  region  from  15  to  35 
per  cent,  and  the  lowest  seams  not  over  15  per  cent.  It  is  from  the 
so-called  "fat"  coals  of  the  middle  region  that  most  of  the  coke  is 
made,  the  ash  running  about  10  per  cent.  The  sale  of  coal  and 
coke  is  controlled  by  a  syndicate  which  embraces  90  per  cent,  of 
the  coal  output,  and  the  price  of  fat  coal  has  risen  during  the  last 
few  years  from  $2  in  1895  to  $2.44  in  1900,  these  figures  being 
at  the  mine.  Kirchhoff  quotes  the  annual  reports  of  many  col- 
lieries, and  the  larger  collieries,  producing  one-third  of  all  the  coal 
and  coke,  show  a  cost  ranging  from  $1.31  to  $1.69  per  ton  of  coal, 
with  an  average  of  $1.55,  the  smaller  collieries  running  up  to  $2 
and  even  to  $2.50. 

The  wages  of  miners  have  advanced  in  recent  years.  In  1878 
day  laborers  received  56  cents  and  the  miners  67  cents,  but  in  1891 
the  wages  were  71  cents  for  common  labor.  A  reaction  followed 
and  then  another  rise,  and  in  1898  common  labor  commanded  76 
cents  per  day  and  the  miners  $1.14.  The  mining  situation  in  West- 
phalia is  much  as  it  is  in  the  United  States,  for  the  development 
of  industry  has  gone  ahead  of  the  increase  in  native  population  and 
one-third  of  the  working  force  comes  from  Poland,  eastern  Prus- 
sia and  Italy.  These  alien  communities  are  less  common  in  Eu- 
rope than  in  our  own  land.  The  selling  price  at  the  oven  of  blast- 
furnace coke  in  the  Ruhr  basin  varied  from  $1.96  per  ton  in  1887 
to  $4.95  in  1890.  It  dropped  to  $2.75  in  1893,  1894  and  1895 
and  rose  to  $3.50  in  1900  and  $4.25  in  1901.  A  great  part  of  this 
coke  is  made  in  by-product  ovens,  and  it  is  well  known  that  coke- 
oven  builders  will  operate  ovens  free  of  cost  for  a  term  of  years, 
taking  their  pay  in  by-products.  This  being  so,  the  price  of  coke 
in  Westphalia  includes  a  good  profit,  and  the  figure  given  is  no 
measure  of  the  cost  to  steel  works  that  own  mines  and  ovens,  among 
which  are  the  following : 


540  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

Horde,  Union,  Hoesch,  Schalke,  Bochumer  Verein,  Krupp, 
Gutehoffnungshiitte,  Phoenix,  Rheinische,  and  Deutsche  Kaiser. 

In  iron  ore,  Westphalia  occupies  a  very  subordinate  position.  A 
small  amount  of  blackband  is  raised,  containing  35  per  cent,  of 
carbon  and  28  per  cent,  of  iron,  mainly  in  the  form  of  carbonate, 
but  the  quantity  is  inconsiderable.  Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  ore  comes 
from  the  Siegen,  the  Lahn  and  Lothringen,  and  the  remainder  from 
over  sea.  Spain  contributes  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  ore  smelted, 
and  Sweden  15  per  cent.  The  supply  from  the  Siegen  is  spathic 
ore,  which  is  roasted  before  using;  it  contains  35  per  cent,  of  iron 
and  is  described  in  the  account  of  that  district.  The  ores  from  the 
Lahn  and  from  Lothringen  are  also  described  in  the  proper  place. 
The  Minette  ore  brought  to  the  Ruhr  is  richer  than  the  average. 
The  composition  runs  as  follows:  Fe,  32  to  38  per  cent.;  Si02, 
6  to  8  per  cent. ;  CaO,  10  to  18  per  cent.  The  usual  furnace  burden 
in  Westphalia  carries  35  to  40  per  cent,  of  this  ore,  35  to  40  per 
cent,  of  Swedish  (Grangesberg  or  Gellivare)  and  10  per  cent,  of 
spathic  ore  from  Siegerland  or  brown  ore  from  Nassau,  the  re- 
mainder being  cinder,  pyrites  residue,  etc. 

Many  well-known  steel  works  of  this  part  of  the  country  are  not 
of  the  type  familiar  to  American  metallurgists.  They  are  produced 
by  slow  accretions  rather  than  by  one  comprehensive  plan,  and  it  is 
seldom  that  any  improvement  involves  the  destruction  of  existing 
plant.  Oftentimes  there  is  complete  discordance  between  the  equip- 
ment of  separate  departments  of  the  same  plant,  and  a  new  and  up- 
to-date  blast  furnace  will  be  running  alongside  a  legacy  of  1840.  A 
massive  new  blooming  mill  will  be  found  supplying  small  finishing 
mills  that  hold  together  only  by  the  force  of  habit,  while  the  most 
economical  steam  engine  will  be  operated  in  conjunction  with  one 
abandoned  by  James  Watts.  These  conditions  obtain  sometimes 
in  America,  but  they  are  incidental  and  temporary,  existing 
only  during  a  period  of  reconstruction,  while  on  the  Continent 
they  are  typical  and  almost  universal  in  the  old  plants  of  West- 
phalia. 

The  cost  of  pig-iron  made  from  Spanish  <5res  is  given  by  Kirch- 
hoff  at  $13.75  per  ton.  The  large  quantity  of  ore  imported  of  this 
kind  would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  cost  of  basic  pig-iron  is 
nearly  as  high,  but  this  ore  is  used  almost  entirely  by  two  works, 
Krupp's  and  Bochum,  these  being  the  only  large  producers  of  acid 


GERMANY.  541 

Bessemer  steel  in  Germany.  The  product  is  used  for  special  steels, 
the  acid  metal  being  considered  preferable. 

Kirchhoff  gives  figures  from  the  reports  of  several  companies  to 
show  the  profits  of  the  industry.  It  is  impossible  to  make  any 
statement  of  profits  and  losses  for  these  old  plants,  which  have  their 
own  sources  of  raw  material  and  sell  everything  from  coal  to  ma- 
chinery, but  I  have  made  a  rough  calculation  that  in  the  year  1898- 
99  the  profits  of  Gutehoffnungshiitte  represented  $6  per  ton 
on  a  production  of  300,000  tons  of  steel.  At  Phoenix  with  an  output 
of  330,000  tons,  and  at  Bochum  with  227,000  tons,  the  profit  was 
$4  per  ton.  The  taxes  at  Gutehoffnungshiitte  amounted  to  44 
cents  per  ton,  and  the  funds  for  workmen's  pensions,  etc.,  footed  up 
48  cents  per  ton,  while  at  Phoenix  the  taxes  were  53  cents  and  the 
pensions  30  cents.  These  taxes  and  pensions  include  the  mines,  coke 
ovens,  etc.,  and  the  profits  include  all  subsidiary  branches  of  the 
plant,  but  I  have  calculated  the  results  on  the  output  of  steel,  as 
these  plants  are  miscellaneous  steel  producers  and  may  rightly  be 
compared  with  many  works  in  America. 

In  Krupp's  works  there  are  fifteen  acid-lined  Bessemer  convert- 
ers, each  of  5  tons  capacity,  and  at  Bochum  there  are  3  of  8  tons, 
a  total  of  18  acid  vessels  with  an  average  of  5J  tons  capacity.  The 
output  of  acid  Bessemer  steel  in  1899,  in  the  Ruhr  district,  was 
118,000  tons.  It  is  quite  certain  that  these  converters  were  not 
worked  to  their  full  capacity,  but  if  we  assume  that  all  the  acid 
Bessemer  steel  was  made  at  Krupp's  the  production  will  be  only 
660  tons  per  converter  per  month.  In  America  we  do  not  have 
many  converters  of  this  size,  but  twenty  years  ago,  when  the  steel 
industry  was  in  its  infancy,  it  was  considered  that  120,000  tons  per 
year  was  the  proper  output  for  two  converters  of  this  size,  supplied 
with  one  ladle  crane  and  pit.  In  other  words,  the  product  for  each 
acid  converter  in  Westphalia  to-day  is  one-tenth  what  it  was  in 
America  twenty  years  ago. 

No  attempt  has  been  made,  either  in  Westphalia  or  in  Lothringen, 
to  specialize  the  rolling  mills,  and  there  is  little  thought  of  steady 
operation  for  large  production,  the  controlling  idea  being  that  it  is 
impossible  to  change  rolls  quickly,  and  that  spare  mills  must  lie  idle, 
ready  to  start  on  a  different  section.  The  weak  point  of  this  plan  is 
that  it  is  difficult  to  arrange  the  hot  bed  and  finishing  part  of  the 
mills  so  as  to  serve  two  different  trains  of  rolls.  In  one  of  the  new 


542  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

plants  working  on  structural  shapes,  at  the  time  of  my  visit  in  1899, 
the  chaotic  condition  of  the  hot  bed  and  cold  bed  and  loading  de- 
partment was  something  which  cannot  be  described.  This  branch 
of  rolling-mill  work  is  the  weakest  feature  of  German  practice, 
while  the  operation  of  heavy  blooming  and  reversing  mills  is  the 
strongest. 

The  output  of  acid  Bessemer  steel  is  small,  being  only  one-tenth 
of  the  basic  tonnage,  and  the  acid  open  hearth  contributes  only 
one-tenth  as  much  as  the  basic  furnaces.  Half  the  steel  is  made  in 
the  large  steel  plants,  meaning  by  this  that  they  operate  both  blast 
furnaces  and  a  Bessemer  plant,  while  the  rest  was  made  in  small 
plants  and  steel-casting  works,  the  latter  having  21  furnaces  aver- 
aging 9  tons  each. 

I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Schrodter  that  "there  are  several  works 
which  turn  out  32,000  to  35,000  tons  in  a  month,  from  either  two 
or  three  basic  converters  of  18  to  20  tons  capacity,  using  one  vessel 
at  a  time."  I  have  received  personal  communications  from  four 
German  works  giving  me  the  output  of  their  converters.  The  first 
four  plants  are  in  the  Ruhr  district,  while  Rothe  Erde  is  at  Aachen. 

Size  of  Tons  per  month 

Works.  converter.  per  converter. 

Phoenix 12 Vz  tons  7,000 

Hoesch 11  tons  8,000 

Horde 18  tons  8,000 

Rheinische 15  tons  6,500 

Rothe  Erde 15  tons  7,500 

A  basic  lining  in  a  converter  is  considered  to  do  well  if  it  lasts 
220  heats,  while  the  bottoms  average  45  to  50  heats.  It  is  the  prac- 
tice to  run  one  vessel  at  a  time,  and  this  will  make  three  heats  per 
hour,  since  the  time  of  blowing  is  about  twelve  minutes.  Every 
sixteen  hours  the  bottom  must  be  changed,  while  delays  occur  from 
repairs  to  tuyeres.  When  such  a  delay  does  occur,  another  vessel  is 
brought  into  use  until  the  repairs  are  completed.  Sometimes  the 
vessels  are  used  alternately  when  the  iron  is  blowing  hot,  and  some- 
times heats  are  made  out  of  turn  to  keep  the  lining  hot  on  an  idle 
vessel,  as  a  basic  lining  suffers  from  becoming  too  cold.  At  the  end 
of  three  days  the  first  vessel  will  be  worn  out  and  relining  takes 
fifteen  hours  and  firing  about  six  hours  more.  While  this  is  going 
on  the  second  and  third  vessels  must  be  working  and  there  are  many 
times  when  a  fourth  unit  is  needed,  the  newest  plants  being  de- 
signed on  this  basis.  The  output  will  not  increase  in  proportion  to 


GERMANY. 


543 


the  number  of  the  converters,  but  each  unit  renders  possible  a  more 
uniform  output  per  hour. 

This  regularity  is  of  more  importance  in  Germany  than  in 
America  on  account  of  the  use  of  unfired  soaking  pits.  The  first 
round  of  ingots  on  Monday  morning  is  kept  in  the  pits  only  twenty 
minutes,  and  rolled  into  blooms,  as  it  is  not  hot  enough  to  finish 
into  rails  or  billets.  The  next  round  stays  forty  minutes,  and  the 
next  sixty  minutes,  after  which  the  mill  goes  on  throughout  the 
week  finishing  billets,  rails,  beams,  or  other  shapes  at  one  opera- 
tion. During  a  roll  change  in  the  finishing  mill,  the  blooming  mill 
may  make  blooms  or  large  billets,  and  it  is  the  general  practice  to 
have  at  least  two  finishing  mills  supplied  from  the  same  blooming 
mill,  and  these  run  alternately  so  that  one  is  always  ready.  One 

TABLE  XXIV-G. 

Westphalian  Steel  Plants  and  Blast  Furnaces. 

Note :— Figures  on  blast  furnaces  are  estimated  daily  capacity;  all  the  steel  plants 
having  blast  furnaces  at  the  steel  works,  use  direct  metal. 


Name  of  works. 

Location. 

Blast 
Fur- 
naces. 

Bessemer 
Converters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Bessemer  steel  works  with  fur- 
naces at  works— 

Horde  Bergw  

Horde  
Dortmund  

7—160 

ft—  160 

8-200 
4-140 

8—140 

3—100) 
3—  150  f 
3—270 
4—300 



4-18 

4—18 

3—11 
3-3^ 

4—12 

8—12 

4—15 
4—18 

1—18 

J7—  18 
12—7 
J4-25 
1l-8 
4-18 
7^-25 
16—15 
11—4 
J4—  20 
11—  12 
4—10 
7—15 

18-21 

Union  

Hoesch  

Dortmund  
Bochum  

Oberhausen  
Ruhrort  

"'3^8' 

1-12 

Ruhrort  

Deutcher  Kaiser  

Bruckhausen  — 

1—15 
9-10 

Bessemer  steel  works  with  blast 
furnaces  elsewhere— 

15—6 

Furnaces  at  

Hochf  eld  

3—100 
3—200 
2—80 
4    75 

Rheinhausen  .... 
Neuwied  

Furnaces  at  

Miiihofen  

4—14 

Berge  Borbeek  .  . 

2—150 
1    125 

Bessemer  Plants  without  blast 
furnaces  — 
Haspe  
Stahl  Industrie  

Baspe  
Boonum   ...... 

'"2^8 

3-6 

2—12 
64—15 

Bteel  works  without  blast  fur- 
naces   

6—12 

Blast    furnaces    without    steel 
works  

20—110 

544  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

of  these  is  generally  equipped  to  roll  small  billets.  In  this  way  the 
converting  department  and  the  soaking  pits  are  kept  running  stead- 
ily and  loss  from  oxidation  in  the  heating  furnaces  is  unknown. 
To  the  average  observer  a  German  plant,  turning  out  from  1000 
to  1500  tons  per  day,  seems  to  be  operating  at  a  very  low  cost,  in 
spite  of  there  being  a  few  more  men  than  would  be  found  in 
America. 

There  were  147  basic  open-hearth  furnaces  in  the  Ruhr  district 
in  1899  with  an  average  rating  of  about  17  tons,  and  these  make 
about  1,800,000  tons  of  open-hearth  steel  per  year;  the  output  of 
Bessemer  steel  is  nearly  2,500,000  tons.  The  total  steel  made  is 
about  4,300,000  tons,  while  the  output  of  pig-iron  is  only  4,000,000 
tons,  the  difference  being  made  up  by  metal  brought  from  the 
Minette  region.  The  district  is  the  great  producer  of  wrought-iron, 
there  being  500  puddle  furnaces  at  work,  or  half  the  number  in 
the  Empire.  Table  XXIV-G  gives  the  principal  producers  of  steel 
and  iron,  but  it  will  be  understood  that  the  estimated  capacity  of 
blast  furnaces  represents  a  maximum  hoped  •  for,  rather  than  a 
regular  production.  Thus  the  seven  furnaces  at  Horde  are  rated  at 
160  tons  when  the  figures  for  1898  show  an  average  product  of  90 
tons,  and  the  same  reports  give  90  tons  for  the  furnaces  belonging  to 
the  Union  Works,  130  tons  for  the  Hoesch,  and  110  tons  for  Gute- 
hoff  nungshii  tte. 

SEC.  XXIVd. — Oberschlesien,  Upper  Silesia: 

In  the  southeastern  end  of  Germany,  surrounded  on  the  north, 
east  and  south  by  Russia  and  Austria,  lies  a  district  fifty  miles 
square,  which  produces  half  as  much  coal  as  the  Ruhr  Valley,  one- 
fourth  as  much  coke,  and  which  stands  second  among  German  dis- 
tricts in  the  production  of  steel.  Isolated  by  the  political  frontier 
lines  and  by  the  mountainous  character  of  the  country,  it  forms  a 
factor  not  only  in  the  industrial  world,  but  in  the  political  situa- 
tion, for  tariff  measures  and  expenditures  for  internal  improvements 
by  railway  or  canal  must  be  arranged  to  give  this  district 'its  share 
in  the  benefits,  in  order  that  it  may  not  pay  taxes  to  assist  a  com- 
petitor. 

Coal  is  found  in  both  Upper  and  Lower  Silesia,  but  the  iron 
industry  exists  only  in  the  east.  The  character  of  the  population  is 
quite  different  from  that  of  western  Germany,  for  eastern  Silesia 
formed  part  of  the  old  province  of  Poland,  as  might  be  inferred 


GERMANY.  545 

from  the  names  of  the  towns.  It  is  more  provincial;  wages  are 
lower;  the  standard  of  living  is  not  as  high,  and  the  proximity  of 
Russian  Poland,  Austria  and  Hungary  gives  rise  to  a  great  deal  of 
floating  foreign  labor.  The  primitive  character  of  the  population 
is  indicated  by  the  traveling  bazaars,  temporarily  established  in  the 
market  places  of  the  towns.  The  wares  are  the  crudest  hand- 
made articles,  ranging  from  shoes  to  augers,  and  could  not  be  sold 
in  an  up-to-date  community  except  to  a  museum.  Gangs  of  Rus- 
sian women  travel  around  in  search  of  work  as  Croatian  or  Austrian 
workmen  go  from  one  place  to  another  in  America,  and  these 
women,  as  well  as  others  from  Austria  and  from  the  home  villages, 
work  in  the  steel  works,  on  the  railroads,  or  any  place  where  there 
is  work  to  be  done,  beginning  this  drudgery  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 
Their  wages  are  25  cents  per  day,  while  men  earn  from  50  to  62 
'cents. 

The  principal  advantage  possessed  by  Silesia  is  its  coal  supply. 
In  1899  it  raised  28,000,000  tons  of  coal,  which  was  over  half  as 
much  as  Westphalia  produced,  and  made  1,777,000  tons  of  coke, 
one-quarter  of  the  amount  turned  out  in  the  Ruhr.  The  coal  is 
rich  in  volatile  matter,  running  from  30  to  35  per  cent.,  but  gives 
a  poor  coke.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  improve  the  quality  by 
stamping  the  coal,  this  being  done  both  wet  and  dry  at  different 
works,  and  although  it  is  questioned  whether  any  good  is  done  by 
this  compression,  the  burden  of  evidence  seems  to  be  in  its  favor. 
The  Silesian  coal  field  reaches  into  Moravia  and  Poland  and  will  be 
further  referred  to  in  the  discussion  of  Austria  and  Russia.  For- 
merly considerable  ore  was  mined  in  Silesia,  but  the  supply  is  de- 
creasing, for  in  1894  there  were  600,000  tons  raised,  while  in  1903 
there  were  only  390,000  tons.  This  ore  is  poor  stuff  of  the  follow- 
ing composition: 

Per  cent. 

Iron t 25 

Manganese 2  to  3 

Silica 30  to  40 

Zinc 0.8 

Water 30 

In  the  dry  state  this  means  Fe,  36  per  cent. ;  silica,  43  to  57  per 
cent. ;  Zn,  1.1  per  cent.  These  figures  were  given  me  on  the  spot  by 
the  manager  of  one  of  the  blast-furnace  plants,  and  they  agree  with 
results  recorded  by  Bremme,  Stahl  and  Eisen,  Vol.  XVI,  p.  755. 


546 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


The  ore  is  very  fine  and  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  flue  dust 
mixed  with  troublesome  sublimate  containing  zinc.  About  35 
per  cent,  of  lime  is  needed  as  a  flux.  The  local  furnaces  are  gradu- 
ally ceasing  to  use  this  ore,  but  I  found  the  works  at  Donners- 
marckhiitte  carrying  it  to  the  extent  of  50  per  cent,  of  the  burden. 
Foreign  ore  is  now  used  in  the  blast  furnaces,  the  amount  brought 
to  the  district  in  1899  being  330,000  tons  from  Hungary  and  275,- 
000  tons  from  Sweden,  the  quantity  of  foreign  ore  smelted  being 
40  per  cent,  more  than  the  domestic  product.  The  Hungarian  ore 
is  a  carbonate  and  is  roasted  before  using.  It  comes  from  Kotter- 
bach,  south  of  the  Tatra  Mountains,  some  of  the  mines  being  owned 
by  the  works  at  Friedenshiitte.  It  is  singular  .that  Friedenshiitte 
should  have  been  one  of  the  first  works  to  install  gas  engines  driven 
by  furnace  gas,  when  the  local  conditions  of  dust  would  make  the 
trial  almost  a  crucial  test,  and  when  coal  for  firing  boilers  can  be 
had  for  $1  per  ton. 

TABLE  XXIV-H. 
Steel  Works  and  Blast  Furnaces  in  Upper  Silesia. 


Location. 

Blast 
Fur- 
naces. 

Bessemer 
Converters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Steel  works  with  blast  furnaces— 

Friedenshiitte.. 
Konigshutte.  .  . 

fSchwientoch- 
1     lowitz 

4—110 
7—80 

3-75 
3—75 
3—70 

4-12 
2—  8 

2—17 
/4—  12 
\1-10 

2-15 

J4-15 
|4—  20 
2-20 

J2—  15 
1  1—20 
f3—  15 
(1—20 
fl-20 
\3-15 

Konigshutte  

1-8 

Bethlen  Falva  

Borsig  werk  

Borsigwerk.... 
Oberlagiewnik. 

Gleiwitz  

Hubertushiitte  

Steel  works  without  blast  fur- 
naces— 
Huldschinsky'che  

1—8 

1—8 

Baildonhutte  

Kattowitz 

Bismarckhutte.  

j  Schwientoch- 
|     lowitz 

. 

Blast    furnaces    without    steel 
works— 
Julienhatte  

Bobreck.  ., 

7-60 
3—75 

Zabrze 

Three  others,  one  each 

The  steel  works  of  this  district  are  of  the  usual  German  type. 
They  are  troubled,  like  a  larger  proportion  of  Continental  and  Eng- 
lish plants,  for  lack  of  water.  In  America  most  works  have  been 


GERMANY.  547 

placed  in  some  advantageous  position,  but  in  Europe  they  "just 
grew,"  and  seldom  are  near  a  sufficient  water  supply,  as  a  good-sized 
river,  according  to  foreign  standards,  carries  about  enough  water  to 
cool  two  or  three  blast  furnaces,  and  condensers  are  a  luxury.  This 
disadvantage  is  overcome  by  the  use  of  central  condensing  plants, 
which  are  much  more  common  than  with  us,  and  by  cooling  towers. 
The  cooling  is  not  enough  to  give  a  good  vacuum,  and  the  clouds 
of  vapor  are  a  nuisance  in  summer  and  winter.  Many  plants  use  the 
condensed  water  to  return  to  the  boilers  and  have  elaborate  settling 
and  skimming  tanks  to  separate  the  oil,  but  much  remains  to  be 
done  to  give  clean  water. 

The  statistics  for  1903  show  33  blast  furnaces  in  operation,  mak- 
ing 753,000  tons  of  iron,  an  average  of  62  tons  per  day  per  furnace. 
There  were  two  acid  Bessemer  converters  of  8  tons  capacity,  and  7 
basic  vessels  of  10  tons.  There  were  30  basic  open-hearth  furnaces, 
averaging  16  tons,  in  the  larger  steel  works,  and  a  few  others  in 
steel-casting  plants.  There  are  no  acid  open-hearth  furnaces  in 
the  district.  Silesia  is  a  large  producer  of  wrought-iron,  there 
being  287  puddle  furnaces  in  operation,  or  30  per  cent,  of  the  total 
for  Germany, 

In  Table  XXIV-H  is  a  list  of  the  steel  works  and  blast  furnaces. 

SEC.  XXIVe.— The  Soar: 

The  Saar  district  is  40  miles  square,  with  an  underlying  bed  of 
coal.  It  includes  Saarbrucken  and  western  Bavaria.  The  coal  is 
not  of  the  best  and  gives  a  poor  coke,  which  would  hardly  be  used 
in  America,  but  that  it  can  be  used  is  proven  by  the  steel  works  at 
Volklingen  and  Burbach.  There  are  four  plants  in  the  valley,  and 
three  of  them  make  most  of  their  pig-iron  at  the  steel  works,  but 
these  three,  and  the  fourth  also,  operate  furnaces  in  Lothringen  or 
Luxemburg  and  bring  the  pig  to  the  Saar.  The  coal  varies,  and 
at  one  works  which  I  visited  it  ran  from  22  to  30  per  cent,  of  ash, 
and  in  another  from  18  to  20  per  cent.  In  both  places  it  was 
crushed  and  washed  and  the  ash  reduced  to  10  per  cent.,  giving  a 
coke  with  12  to  14  per  cent.  The  coal  is  rammed  with  an  electric 
rammer  before  charging,  compressing  the  mass  so  that  the  coke  is 
more  dense  and  the  amount  used  for  smelting  is  decreased  10  per 
cent.  The  yield  of  coke  is  70  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  dry  coal. 
Scarcely  any  of  this  coke  is  carried  outside  the  valley  of  the  Saar, 
but  the  local  blast  furnaces  use  it  exclusively. 


548 


THE  IKON  INDUSTRY. 


The  ore  is  brought  from  the  Minette  district,  and  the  mixture  is 
self-fluxing,  containing  about  31  per  cent,  of  iron,  and  the  pig 
carries  2  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  the  practice  being  the  same  as  in 

TABLE  XXIV-I. 

Steel  Works  and  Blast  Furnaces  in  the  Saar  District,  with  the 
Number  of  Furnaces  and  Rated  Capacity. 


Location. 

Blast 
Fur- 
naces. 

Bessemer 
Converters. 

Open  Hearth 
Furnaces. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Steel  works  with  blast  furnaces— 

Burbach  

5-130 
2—120 
5-120 

2—180 

6—  eo 

4      30 

4—11 

3—15 

also  at  Esch,  Luxemburg  .  .  . 

Rochlingr'sche  

Volklingen  .... 

4    15 

also  at  Didenhofen  Lothrin- 

Gebruder  Stumm    

Neunkirchen.-. 

4—12 

1—12 

also  at  Ueckingen  Lothrin- 

Steel  works  with  furnaces  else- 
where — 

Dillingen    . 

Dillingen 

3—15 

1    15 

jl—  30 
12—25 

3-15 
8—15 

Furnaces  at  Redingen  Loth- 

2      60 

Steel  works  without  furnaces- 
Weber  

Hos  ten  bach 

Eisenwerks  Kramer  
Blast  furnaces  without   steel 
works— 
Halbergehutte  

St   Ingbert 

3—12 

Brebach  

4—30 

Lothringen,  save  that  the  coke  is  inferior  to  the  Westphalian  fuel. 
There  are  20  blast  furnaces  in  the  Saar,  and  in  1903  they  smelted 
736,000  tons  of  pig-iron,  or  a  little  over  80  tons  per  day  per  furnace, 
reckoning  them  as  all  in  operation.  There  were  no  acid  converters 
and  only  three  acid  open-hearth  furnaces.  There  were  four  basic 
Bessemer  works  with  18  converters  of  an  average  capacity  of  13 
tons,  and  16  basic  open-hearth  furnaces  of  an  average  capacity  of 
16  tons. 

Table  XXIV-I  gives  a  list  of  the  steel  works  and  blast  furnaces. 

SEC.  XXIVf.— Aachen  (Aix  la  Chapette)  : 

The  immediate  neighborhood  of  Aachen  possesses  a  bituminous 
coal  field  which  in  1899  raised  1,764,000  tons  of  coal.  This  gives 
a  fair  coke  and  the  output  of  the  ovens  in  the  above  year  was  337,- 
000  tons.  There  is  also  a  deposit  of  lignite  from  which  nearly 


GERMANY. 


549 


4,000,000  tons  were  mined.  The  output  of  this  kind  of  coal  is  in- 
creasing for  use  in  making  steam  and  similar  purposes,  a  large  pro- 
portion being  made  into  briquettes.  The  ore  production  is  small, 
being  only  16,580  tons  in  1899.  There  are  some  scattered  blast 
furnaces  which  made  153,000  tons  of  iron  during  the  year.  The 
district  is  important  as  a  steel  maker  on  account  of  the  works  at 
Eothe  Erde,  on  the  outskirts  of  Aachen.  This  plant  makes  no  pig- 
iron  at  its  works,  but  operates  five  furnaces  at  Esch  in  Luxemburg, 
all  the  pig-iron  going  to  Eothe  Erde  for  remelting.  There  are  three 
basic  converters  of  15  tons  each,  which  made  287,000  tons  in  the 
year  1902,  or  8000  tons  per  month  for  each  vessel.  There  are  also 
three  open-hearth  furnaces  of  25  tons  capacity.  The  Rothe  Erde 
works  are  progressive  and  have  an  extensive  system  of  cranes,  com- 
manding their  storage  and  shipping  yards,  quite  unusual  in  foreign 
works  and  not  at  all  common  in  American  plants.  A  conspicuous 
feature  is  a  high  crane  covering  traveling  cranes  of  ordinary  height 
and  span  and  transferring  material  or  even  the  smaller  and  lower 
cranes  themselves. 

SEC.  XXIVg.— Ilsede  and  Peine: 

In  the  southeast  corner  of  the  province  of  Hannover,  between  the 
towns  of  Hannover  and  Brunswick,  is  a  deposit  of  brown  iron  ore 
mined  by  open  cut,  the  bed  varying  from  6  to  41  feet  in  thickness. 

TABLE  XXIV-J. 
Composition  of  Ilsede  Ores. 

(Wedding:  Elsenhiitten  Kunde;  1897,  Zwelte;  p.  33.) 


Aluminous. 

Calcareous. 

Washed  Ore. 

Phosphoric. 

Fe  O 

58  26 

44  16 

62  73 

16.41 

MnO..  

7.31 

4.72 

5.26 

1.00 

giO            

10.70 

8.90 

4  87 

3.09 

Al.O... 

4.76 

1.00 

1  02 

1.16 

CaO.T  

5.09 

21.61 

8.90 

31.50 

MgO  

0  44 

0.91 

P,0  
H.O+CO,  

2  46 
10.96 

2  15 
22.46 

4.06 
13  14 

25  96 
19.97 

Total     

100.00 

100.00 

100  00 

100.00 

Metallic  Iron  wet. 

40.9 

309 

31.3 

11.5 

The  composition  is  given  in  Table  XXIV-J,  the  material  called 
"washed  ore"  being  obtained  by  washing  the  clay  from  the  fine  ore 


550  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

produced  in  mining,  thus  obtaining  clean  grains  of  ore.  The  ore 
is  used  raw  and  is  self-fluxing,  giving  a  pig-iron  containing  about  3 
per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  which  is  the  best  for  basic  Bessemer  prac- 
tice of  any  iron  in  Germany.  It  is  smelted  at  Ilsede  in  three  blast 
furnaces  of  200  tons  each,  and  the  fuel  ratio  is  about  1  to  1.  The 
records  of  manufacture  for  223,000  tons  of  pig  show  that  2.925  tons 
of  ore  were  used  per  ton  of  pig-iron,  while  the  coke  was  1.008  tons. 
The  coke  is  brought  from  the  Euhr,  a  distance  of  over  150  miles, 
with  a  freight  rate  of  $1.58  per  ton,  but  it  has  been  estimated  by 
Schrodter  that  the  cost  of  pig-iron  was  only  about  $6.75  per  ton, 
in  an  era  of  low  prices  a  few  years  ago.  In  1899,  owing  to  high 
cost  of  fuel  and  supplies,  the  pig-iron  cost  $9.10  and  in  1900  it  was 
$10.10.  A  local  supply  of  lignite  helps  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door. 
In  1902  the  output  of  ingots  was  239,000  tons,  about  20,000  tons 
per  month.  The  pig-iron  is  converted  into  steel  at  Peine,  three 
miles  away,  where  there  are  four  basic  converters  of  15  tons  capacity. 

SEC.  XXI Vh. — Kingdom   of  Saxony: 

The  Kingdom  of  Saxony,  which  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  province  of  the  same  name,  is  on  the  border  of  Austria,  touch- 
ing Silesia  on  the  east,  while  Bavaria  lies  on  the  west.  It  contains  a 
good  supply  of  fuel,  and  in  1899  raised  4,500,000  tons  of  bituminous 
coal  and  1,300,000  tons  of  lignite.  Some  of  this  coal  will  make 
coke,  and  72,000  tons  were  so  used  in  the  year  mentioned.  There 
are  some  deposits  of  ore,  but  the  amount  is  unimportant.  No  pig- 
iron  is  smelted,  but  pig-iron  is  brought  in  from  outside  and  the  dis- 
trict around  Chemnitz  shows  quite  a  development  of  the  steel  in- 
dustry. A  small  amount  of  puddled  iron  is  also  made.  There 
are  four  steel  works.  One  has  two  acid  converters  of  six  tons  ca- 
pacity, which  in  1902  made  11,000  tons  of  steel,  and  another  has 
three  basic  converters  of  15  tons,  which  made  40,000  tons.  There  is 
one  acid  open-hearth  furnace  of  eight  tons  and  eleven  basic  furnaces 
of  13  tons.  There  are  also  some  small  steel-casting  plants. 

SEC.  XXI Vi.— The  Siegen: 

Siegerland  includes  the  southern  portion  of  Westphalia  and  the 
eastern  arm  of  the  Ehine  province.  It  has  no  coal,  but  raises  a 
large  amount  of  ore,  most  of  this  being  a  carbonate  occurring  in 
mammoth  fissure  veins  of  great  extent.  The  ore  is  mined  by  shafts 
averaging  about  700  feet  in  depth,  and  is  roasted  before  smelting, 
the  loss  in  weight  being  30  per  cent.  About  two-thirds  of  the  output 


GERMANY.  551 

is  smelted  in  the  district,  the  rest  going  to  the  Ruhr  or  the  Lower 
Rhine.  In  1899  there  were  2,120,000  tons  of  ore  raised,  which  was 
one-eighth  of  the  total  for  Germany.  The  calcined  ore,  according  to 
Brugmann,*  runs  from  47  to  48  per  cent,  in  iron,  8  to  10  per  cent, 
in  manganese  and  9  to  12  per  cent,  in  residue.  The  distance  to 
the  Kuhr  is  90  miles  and  the  freight  70  cents  per  ton.  The  cost 
delivered  is  $4.40,  the  low  phosphorus  and  high  manganese  making 
the  ore  desirable. 

There  are  32  blast  furnaces  in  the  district,  four  of  them  operated 
by  steel  works.  These  have  a  daily  capacity  ranging  from  70  to 
110  tons,  but  the  others  are  smaller,  the  average  rated  capacity  being 
only  60  tons.  The  pig-iron  production  in  1899  was  657,000  tons, 
which  is  30  tons  per  day  for  each  furnace,  but  many  of  the  old 
furnaces  are  making  spiegeleisen,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
output  running  20  per  cent,  in  manganese.  Much  pig  is  used  for 
puddling,  there  being  over  one  hundred  furnaces  in  the  district,  or 
10  per  cent,  of  the  total  for  Germany.  There  are  four  steel  works 
in  the  district,  concerning  one  of  which  the  German  records  give 
no  information  beyond  a  question  mark.  The  other  three  make  only 
basic  open-hearth  steel,  having  12  furnaces  of  an  average  capacity 
of  13  tons.  The  output  of  steel  in  1902  was  154,000  tons. 

SEC.  XXI Vj.— Osnabruck: 

The  district  of  Osnabruck  lies  at  the  junction  of  western  Han- 
nover and  northern  Westphalia ;  being  only  50  miles  from  the  Ruhr 
it  might  be  included  in  that  district,  but  it  possesses  its  own  coal 
and  ore  beds  and  thus  stands  by  itself.  In  1899  it  raised  550,000 
tons  of  bituminous  coal  and  128,000  tons  of  ore.  The  ore  comes 
from  the  Hiiggel  and  though  low  in  phosphorus  is  very  friable. 
Brugmann  gives  its  content  as  from  15  to  25  per  cent,  of  iron, 
with  much  moisture.  The  iron  industry  is  centered  in  the  Georgs- 
Marien-Bergwerks,  at  Osnabruck.  There  are  four  blast  fur- 
naces, and  in  1899  the  production  of  pig-iron  was  115,000  tons, 
or  about  80  tons  per  day  for  each.  There  are  two  acid  converters 
of  seven  tons,  and  three  basic  open-hearth  furnaces  of  twenty  tons 
each. 

SEC.  XXI Vk.— Bavaria: 

The  iron  industry  of  Bavaria  consists  of  the  Eisen.  Ges.  Maxi- 
milianshiitte,  at  Rosenberg  in  Oberpfalz.  It  has  two  blast  furnaces, 

*  Journal  I.  <&  S.  I..  Vol.  II,  1902. 


552  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

three  basic  converters  of  five  tons  capacity  and  two  basic  open-hearth 
furnaces  of  fifteen  tons. 

SEC.  XXIVl—The  Lahn: 

The  district  known  as  the  Lahn  begins  at  Coblenz  and  stretches 
northeastwardly  through  Hessen  Nassau,  south  of  the  Westerwold 
range.  It  is  known  for  its  red  and  brown  hematites,  large  quantities; 
being  sent  to  Westphalia.  In  1899  the  Lahn  raised  750,000  tons 
of  ore,  this  being  one-third  of  what  was  mined  in  the  Siegen.  The 
average  run  of  red  hematite  is  50  per  cent,  in  iron.  The  ore  is  car- 
ried 130  miles  to  Westphalia,  with^a  freight  rate  of  97  cents;  the 
delivered  price  is  $3.80  or  7.6  cents  per  unit.  This  neighborhood 
also  supplies  ore,  carrying  22  to  38  per  cent,  of  iron,  7  to  8  per  cent, 
of  manganese,  and  1.8  to  25  per  cent,  of  residues.  This  is  laid  down 
in  Westphalia  for  $3.50  per  ton. 

SEC.  XXIVm. — Pommerania: 

A  new  tidewater  plant  of  three  blast  furnaces  of  the  Eisenwerk 
Kraft,  near  Stettin  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  has  been  built  to  smelt  im- 
ported ore,  coal  being  brought  from  England  and  coked  in  by- 
product ovens.  The  iron  is  for  foundry  use,  and  by  its  situation  this 
plant  has  easy  access  to  Berlin,  one  of  the  greatest  markets  in  the 
world  on  account  of  the  business  done  in  miscellaneous  castings. 


CHAPTEK  XXV. 

FRANCE. 

I  am  indebted  to  my  friend,  Mr.  August  Dutreux,  of  the  Cie.  des  Forges  de  Chatillon, 
Commentry  et  Neuves-Maisons,  for  a  careful  reading  of  the  manuscript  of  this  article. 

SECTION  XX Va. — General  View: 

The  iron  industry  in  France  is  spread  over  the  whole  country,  as 
willbe  seen  in  Fig.  XXV-A;  many  seats  of  industry  date  back 
many  years,  but  the  control  of  the  situation  rests  in  the  ore  beds  of 
the  Minette  district  on  the  borders  of  Luxemburg  and  Lothringen. 
This  deposit  has  been  fully  described  in  the  chapter  on  Germany, 
and  it  was  stated  that  the  ore  extended  into  the  province  of  Meurthe 
et  Moselle.  The  French  iron  business  was  discussed  in  Journal  I.  & 
8.  1.,  Vol.  II,  by  H.  Pinget,  secretary  of  the  Comite  des  Forges  de 
France;  through  the  courtesy  of  M.  Pinget  I  am  in  possession  of 
the  statistics  for  1900,  and  also  the  number  of  converters  and  open- 
hearth  furnaces  in  each  province  and  their  output.  I  have  grouped 
these  provinces  in  the  usual  way,  the  results  being  shown  in  Table 
XXV-A.  The  map  in  Fig.  XXV-A  gives  the  output  for  1899. 

Early  in  1900  I  was  able  to  enlist  the  services  of  the  American 
Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Paris  in  the  collection  of  statistics  con- 
cerning the  different  provinces  of  France.  The  results  are  shown 
in  Fig.  XXV-B. 

SEC.  XXVb.— The  East: 

The  eastern  division  embraces  the  great  ore  deposit  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Meurthe  et  Moselle  and  the  neighboring  districts  of  Haute 
Marne,  Ardenne  and  Meuse.  The  map  of  the  Minette  district,  given 
in  connection  with  Lothringen,  will  indicate  the  position  of  mines 
and  steel  works.  All  basic  Bessemer  plants  in  the  Minette  district 
are  in  Meurthe  et  Moselle,  but  the  other  three  provinces  make  the 
greater  part  of  the  open-hearth  product,  and  their  output  is  increas- 

553 


554 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


ing.  The  fuel  must  be  brought  quite  a  distance,  and  as  the  Belgian 
coal  fields  are  as  near  as  those  of  northern  France,  and  since  the 
coke  from  the  French  deposit  is  not  of  the  best,  and  since  it  has 


been  impossible  to  get  a  sufficient  supply,  there  is  a  large  amount 
of  coke  brought  from  Germany  and  Belgium  in  spite  of  the  tariff. 
The  Pompey  Company  has  ovens  at  Seraing,  Belgium,  but  as  a 


FRANCE. 


555 


rule  the  companies  do  not  control  their  fuel  supply,  although  very 
lately  the  furnaces  around  Longwy  have  united  to  form  a  coke  com- 


TABLE  XXV-A. 
Production  of  Fuel,  Ore,  Iron  and  Steel  in  France;  metric  tons. 

Data  marked  thus  *  are  for  1898. 


Production 
in  1899. 

Goal. 

Coke. 

Ore. 

No.  of 
Blast 
Furnaces 
in 
Operation 
in  1904. 

Pig 
Iron. 

Wrought] 
Iron. 

East 

4,224,000 

66 

1,576,000 

213,000 

North  

19,861,000 

1,357,000* 

12 

297,000 

350,000 

Centre  

6,516,000 

368,000* 

148,000 

14 

247,000* 

80,000* 

South 

3065000 

233000 

•>M4  IX  HI 

10 

136,000* 

12,000 

Southwest  

24.000* 

7 

106,000* 

Northwest  

9,000 

2 

75,000* 

Others 

3421000 

377000 

1 

61,000 

Total. 

32863000 

1952000 

4,986000 

112 

2578000 

834,000 

Imports 

13,370,000 

1,951,000 

Exports 

1,U26000 

Production 
in  1900. 

No.  of  Steel 
Works. 

Bessemer. 

Open  Hearth. 

Total 
Steel. 

Rails 
in  1901. 

•1 

With 
Bessemer 
Con- 
verters. 

No.  of 
Con- 
verters. 

Product. 

No.  of 
Fur- 
naces. 

Product. 

East 

9 
4 
10 
3 
1 
2 
5 

6 
3 
1 
1 

1 
1 

19 
9 
2 
2 
2 
3 

554,890 
232,328 
62,128 

33.326 
45.579 
32,909 

8 
13 
43 
10 
2 
5 
10 

71,104 
138,548 
261,788 
59,769 
15,434 
54,602 
68,542 

625,994 

370,877 
313,916 
93,095 
61,013 
87,511 
68,542 

119,873 
72,289 

North  

Centre  
South 

48,793 
33,000 
17,859 

Southwest.. 
Northwest  .  . 
Others 

Total.... 

Total  for 
1903.... 

34 

13 

37 

951,161 
1,172,984 

91 

609,787 
681,636 

1,620,948 
1,854,620 

291,814 

pany.  A  plant  of  500  ovens  has  been  built,  but  a  sufficient  supply 
of  coal  is  not  available,  as  the  coal  companies  prefer  to  make  coke 
in  their  own  ovens.  For  this  reason  some  of  the  large  steel  com- 
panies are  acquiring  coal  mines  in  the  Pas-de-Calais  district. 

In  1898  this  district  produced  60  per  cent,  of  all  the  basic  Bes- 


556 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


semer  steel  made  in  France,  and  at  that  time  there  were  only  four 
works  in  operation,  the  Longwy,  Micheville,  Joeuf  and  Pompey. 
Other  works  have  started  which  will  overshadow  these  completely, 
from  which  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  complete  supremacy  of 


Hi 

•4) 

O 

O 


pq 


XI 


this  district.  It  is  customary  to  consider  Meurthe  et  Moselle  as 
made  up  of  three  districts,  Longwy,  Joeuf  and  Nancy ;  but  they  are 
exactly  alike  in  metallurgical  conditions. 


FRANCE.  557 

In  the  Longwy  division  there  are  three  steel  plants  of  moderate 
capacity,  as  follows: 

(1)  The  Longwy  Company,  which  in  1901  produced  169,670  tons 
of  pig-iron  and  149,556  tons  of  ingots. 

(2)  The  Micheville  Company,  which  in  1901  made  155,730  tons 
of  pig-iron  and  125,854  tons  of  ingots. 

(3)  The  Societe  des  Forges  de  Montataire,  with  a  new  works  at 
Frouard,  with  three  eight-ton  converters. 

In  the  Joeuf  district  are  two  steel  works : 

(1)  Compagnie  des  Forges  et  Acieres  de  la  Marine  et  d'Home- 
court.     This  is  a  new  company  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Soc. 
Vezin  Aulnaye  with  the  Forges  et  Acieres  de  la  Marine.    There  are 
now  two  blast  furnaces,  but  one  more  is  to  be  built  immediately. 
There  are  three  18-ton  converters  with  an  estimated  capacity  of 
1200  tons  per  day.    In  1901  the  works  made  102,023  tons  of  pig- 
iron  and  110,262  tons  of  ingots. 

(2)  The  old  plant  of  De  Wendel,  in  which  Schneider  &  Co.,  of 
Creusot,  are  interested,  has  a  rated  capacity  of  500  tons  per  day, 
but  is  of  an  antiquated  type.  Owing  to  the  relations  existing  between 
France  and  Germany  no  railroad  connection  is  allowed  with  the 
works,  since  it  brings  its  ore  by  rail  from  German  territory,  and  all 
its  products  are  hauled  by  cart  to  the  existing  French  railroad. 

The  third  district  of  Nancy  has  two  steel  plants : 

(1)  The  Pompey  Company  at  Pornpey. 

(2)  A  new  works  being  built  at  Neuves-Maisons  by  the  Com- 
pagnie des  Forges  de  Chatillon,   Commentry  et  Neuves-Maisons. 
This  company  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  largest  in  France  and  has 
operated  works  for  many  years  in  the  central  district  at  Montlugon, 
Commentry  and  elsewhere,  and  it  is  very  significant  when  such  a 
new  departure  is  taken  and  a  large  works  projected  in  a  district  en- 
tirely disconnected  with  all  preceding  operations.     The  new  plant, 
is  to  include  five  blast  furnaces  and  four  18-ton  converters. 

In  addition  to  the  blast  furnaces  connected  with  steel  works 
above  mentioned,  there  are  others  making  iron  for  the  general  mar- 
ket, and  on  January  1, 1900,  there  were  65  furnaces  completed,  with 
54  in  blast,  the  total  capacity  being  estimated  at  5000  tons  per  day. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  metallurgical  situation  in  this  local- 
ity as  it  has  been  covered  by  the  description  of  Lothringen.  Table 
XXV-B  gives  a  list  of  the  works  in  this  district. 


558  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

TABLE  XXV-B. 
Steel  Works  in  the  East  of  France. 

Those  marked  (B)  have  Bessemer  converters. 

Province.  Companies.  Location. 

Meurthe-et-Moselle       Societe    anonyme    des     Acie"ries     de 

Longwy   (B)  Mont- Saint-Martin 

Soci6t6     anonyme     des     Aci6ries     de 

Micheville    (B)  Micheville 

MM.  de  Wendel   et  Cle,   Maitres   de 

Forges   (B)  Joeuf 

Socie'te"    anonyme    de    Vezin-Aulnoye 

(B)  Homecourt 

Societe"  anonyme  des  Hauts-Four- 
neaux.  Forges  et  Acie"ries  de  Pom- 
pey  (B)  Pompey 

Socie'te"  anonyme  des  Forges  et  Fon- 

deries  de  Montataire   (B)  Frouard 

Meuse  Socie'te  anonyme  des  Forges  et  Acl- 

e"ries  de  Commercy  Commercy 

Haute-Marne  Compagnie     des    Forges     de     Cham- 

pagne et  du  Canal  de  Saint-Dizier       Marnaval-Salnt- 
a  Wassy  Dizier 

Ardennes  MM.    Boutmy    et    Cle,    Maitres    de       Messempre"- 

Forges  Carignan 

MM.  Lefort  et  Cle,  Maitres  de 
Forges  Mohon 

SEC.  XXVc.— The  North: 

The  great  coal  field  of  France  lies  in  the  provinces  of  Nord  and 
Pas-de-Calais.  It  is  an  extension  of  the  Belgian  deposit  and  ex- 
tends from  the  border  to  beyond  Bethune ;  the  city  of  Valenciennes 
may  be  regarded  as  a  center.  The  developments  in  Pas-de-Calais 
are  rather  recent.  An  extension  of  the  Nord  coal  fields  has  been 
exploited  at  depths  ranging  from  2300  to  4000  feet,  and  the  French 
steel  works  have  taken  advantage  of  the  new  discoveries  to  acquire 
independent  coal  supplies.  The  coke  is  not  of  the  best  quality,  but 
the  Belgian  is  little  better,  and  the  demand  has  been  ahead  of  the 
supply  owing  to  the  development  of  the  iron  industry  in  Meurthe  et 
Moselle,  so  that  although  there  are  now  2000  coke  ovens  in  operation 
and  many  more  in  process  of  erection,  the  price  of  fuel  in  France 
has  been  almost  prohibitive.  In  the  year  1900  coal  retailed  in 
Paris  at  $15  per  ton  and  coke  for  foundry  use  as  high  as  $10. 
These  prices,  which  were  exceptionally  high  even  for  France,  en- 
couraged imports  in  spite  of  a  duty  of  25  cents  per  ton,  and  coal 
from  the  United  States  entered  Mediterranean  ports,  while  Eng- 
land sent  6,000,000  tons  of  fuel,  including  coal  and  coke,  and  Ger- 
many supplied  considerable  coke.  Belgian  and  English  fuel  is  im- 


FRANCE.  559 

ported  into  the  coal  region  itself,  for  in  1899  the  foreign  coal  used 
in  the  provinces  of  Nord  and  Pas-de-Calais  was  one-sixth  of  the 
total  consumption.  In  the  province  of  Calvados  in  the  northwest, 
a  short  distance  from  the  French  coal  fields,  nearly  all  the  fuel  was 
brought  from  England.  It  is  the  intention  of  French  coke  makers 
to  increase  the  number  of  ovens  so  as  to  render  imports  unnecessary, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  this  increase  can  affect  the  northwestern  and 
southwestern  works,  which  are  close  to  the  sea  and  which  will  find 
English  coke  cheaper,  as  well  as  better.  The  cost  of  mining  in  the 
Nord  and  Pas-de-Calais  field  is  enhanced  by  the  depth  of  the  shafts 
and  by  the  dislocations  and  contortions  of  the  strata,  and  the  coal 
must  compete  on  the  east  with  the  product  of  Belgium  and  Germany 
and  on  the  west  with  English  fuel. 

A  certain  amount  of  iron  has  been  made  in  this  district,  but  the 
great  drawback  has  been  the  absence  of  any  ore  deposit,  the  supply 
having  been  drawn  from  Meurthe  et  Moselle,  or  from  Spain  and 
Sweden.  For  years  there  has  been  a  small  amount  of  hematite 
mined  in  the  province  of  Calvados.  I  am  informed  that  there  has 
now  been  discovered  the  mother  lode  of  spathic  ore  in  large  quanti- 
ties and  of  good  quality.  The  freight  on  this  will  be  low  owing  to 
empty  cars  returning  northward  to  the  coal  districts,  and  it  is  thus 
possible  to  establish  an  iron  center  in  the  District  of  the  North.  To 
what  extent  this  may  develop  remains  to  be  determined.  Table 
XXV-C  gives  a  list  of  the  steel  works  in  the  district. 

TABLE  XXV-C. 
Steel*  Works  in  the  North  of  France. 

Those  marked  (B)  have  Bessemer  converters. 

Province.  Companies.  Location. 

Nord  Socl^te"     anonyme     des     Hauts-Four- 

neaux,   Forges  et  Acterles   de  De- 
naln  et  d'Anzin  (B)  Denaln 

Socle'te"  anonyme  des  Forges  et  Ad- 

gries  du  Nord  et  de  1'Est  (B)  Trlth-Salnt-Leger 

Socle'te'   anonyme   des   Uslnes   de   la 

Providence  Hautmont 

Paa-d€-Calale  Socle'te*    anonyme    des    Acierles    de 

France   (B)  Isbergues 

SEC.  XXVd.— The  Center: 

The  central  district  embraces  the  provinces  of  Loire,  Saone  et 
Loire,  Allier,  Ehone,  Cher,  Isere  and  Nievre,  and  the  works  at 
Creusot,  Montlugon,  Commentry,  St.  Chamond,  Firminy  and  St 


560 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Etienne.  Notwithstanding  this  array  of  names  familiar  to  metal- 
lurgists, the  output  of  this  part  of  France  may  be  briefly  passed 
over.  It  is  of  small  amount  and  the  existing  works  have  become 
specialized,  making  high-grade  products  for  a  limited  market,  as, 
for  instance,  armor  plate,  guns  and  tool  steels.  The  fuel  supply  is 
not  good,  the  blast-furnace  coke  of  St.  Etienne  in  the  Loire  basin 
containing  an  average  of  14  per  cent,  of  ash.  The  supply  from 

TABLE  XXV-D. 
Steel  Works  in  the  Center  of  France. 

Note:  Those  marked  (B)  have  Bessemer  Converters. 


Province. 

Companies. 

Location. 

Allier  

Compagnie  des  Forges  de  Chatillon.    Commentry 

et  Neuves-Maisons                .                    

Montlucon  and 

Isere 

MM  Ch  Pinat  et  Cie  Maitres  de  Forges  

Commentry 
Allevard 

Loire       

Compagnie  des  Forges  et  Acieries  de  la  Marine  et 

des  Chemins  de  f  er    

Saint-Chamond 

Compagnie  des  Fonderies,  Forges  et  Aci6ries  de 
Saint-Etienne                                                  

et  Assailly 
Saint-Etienne 

MM.  Claudinon  et  Cie,  Maitres  de  Forges  

Le  Chambon-Feu- 

Societe  anonyme  des  Acieries  et  Forges  de  Fir- 
miny                                                                   .... 

gerolles 
Firminy 

Nievre 

MM.  Jacob  Holtzer  et  Cie,  Maitres  des  Forges.  .  . 
Soci6te  anonyme  de  Commentry-Fourchambault 

Unieux 

et  Decazeville 

Imphy 

Saone-et-Loire.  . 

MM.  Schneider  et  Cie,  Maitres  de  Forges.    (B)  .  . 
MM.  Campionnet  et  Cie                      

Le  Creusot 
Grueugnon 

Allier,  which  goes  to  Commentry,  Montlugon,  etc.,  is  no  better,  while 
much  of  the  fuel  for  the  Creusot  works  comes  from  the  Burgundy 
basin  in  Saone  et  Loire,  and  for  the  making  of  coke  must  be  mixed 
with  one-third  of  the  coal  from  St.  Etienne.  Ore  is  wanting,  over 
one-third  the  supply  being  brought  from  Spain,  and  there  seems  to 
be  no  future  development  possible  as  far  as  international  metallurgy 
is  concerned.  The  whole  district  in  1899  made  only  4000  tons  of 
rails,  which  was  but  a  little  more  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  total  out- 
put of  steel.  The  Creusot  works  turn  out  a  very  fair  product,  but 
much  of  their  pig-iron  is  brought  from  more  favored  districts. 
This  plant  makes  almost  all  the  few  rails  made  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  quite  a  little  material  for  ships,  and  claims  attention 
on  account  of  its  miscellaneous  business  in  machinery,  ordnance 
and  structural  work;  but  there  is  little  danger  that  the  establish- 
ments of  central  France  will  make  many  conquests  in  international 


FRANCE. 


561 


trade  in  the  lines  of  heavy  machinery  or  structures  until  their 
present  methods  of  hand  labor  are  revolutionized.  In  the  southern 
part  of  this  division  Algerian  ore  is  used,  as  well  as  some  from  the 
Pyrenees.  In  1888  there  were  24  blast  furnaces  reported  in  blast, 
but  ten  years  later,  in  1898,  only  16  were  in  operation.  Table 
XXV-D  gives  a  list  of  the  steel  works  in  this  district. 

SEC.  XX Ve.— The  South: 

The  southern  district  covers  the  provinces  of  Gard,  Aveyron, 
Ardeche,  Bouches  du  Ehone  and  Ariege,  and  includes  the  coal  field 
of  Alais  in  Gard,  which  gives  a  coke  that  is  used  in  the  blast  fur- 
naces of  Besseges  and  Tamari.  There  is  also  a  deposit  in  Aveyron, 
which,  though  poorer  than  the  Alais  coal,  will  run  over  18  per 
cent,  in  volatile  matter  and  will  give  a  marketable  coke  in  Coppee 
ovens.  In  the  southeast  there  are  deposits  of  lignite,  the  province 
of  Bouches  du  Ehone  raising  490,000  tons  in  1899,  and  neighbor- 
ing districts  contributing  117,000  tons.  Some  of  this  is  sent  to 

TABLE  XXV-E. 
Steel  Works  in  the  South  of  France. 

Note :    Those  marked  (B)  have  Bessemer  converters 


Province. 


Companies. 


Location. 


Ariege... 
Aveyron. 

Gard... 


3ociete  Metallurgique  de  1' Ariege 

Societe  anonyme  de  Commentry-Fourchambault  et 

Decazeville 

Compagnie  des  Mines,  Fonderies  et  Forges  d'  Alais.  (B) 


Partners 

Decazeville 
Besseges  and  Alais 


Switzerland  and  Italy.  The  quality  of  this  fuel  is  not  good  and 
the  supply  is  scant,  so  that  one-quarter  of  all  the  coal  consumed  in 
this  part  of  the  country  is  imported  from  England.  The  iron  in- 
dustry has  received  an  impetus  from  recent  developments  in  the 
Pyrenees ;  these  mountains  have  long  supplied  ore  in  moderate  quan- 
tities, but  it  is  likely  that  the  output  will  be  increased.  Some  ore 
is  brought  from  Algeria.  In  1888  there  were  nine  blast  furnaces  in 
operation,  while  in  1898  there  were  eleven  in  blast,  some  of  these  in 
the  region  near  the  Pyrenees  being  small  and  using  charcoal  for 
fuel.  Table  XXV-E  gives  a  list  of  the  steel  works  in  the  district. 
SEC.  XXVf. — The  Northwest  (Loire  Inferieure)  and  the  South- 
west (Landes) : 


562 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Both  these  divisions  import  Spanish  ores  from  the  north  of  Spain 
and  smelt  with  English  coke.  The  works  in  Loire  Inferieure  bring 
some  pig-iron  from  other  provinces  of  France.  The  production  of 
neither  district  is  of  importance,  although  both  contribute  quite 
largely  to  the  rail  output.  At  the  works  at  Trignac,  near  St.  Na- 
zaire,  there  are  three  blast  furnaces,  three  10-ton  converters  and  four 
open-hearth  furnaces,  the  production  of  Bessemer  steel  being  about 
2500  tons  per  month.  The  works  in  the  two  districts  are  given  in 
Table  XXV-F. 

TABLE  XXV-F. 
Steel  Works  in  the  Northwest  and  Southwest  of  France. 

Note :    Those  marked  (B)  have  Bessemer  converters. 


Province, 

Companies. 

Location. 

Loire-Inf  erieure  - 

Societe    anonyme  des  Acieries.    Hauts-Fourneaux, 
Forges  et  Acieries  de  Trignac     (B)  

Trignac 
Basse-Indre 

Le  Boucau 

Societ6  anonyme  des  Forges  et  Acieries  de  Basse-Indre 
Compagnie  des  Forges  et  Acieries  de  la  Marine  et  des 

CHAPTEE  XXVI. 


RUSSIA. 

I  am  irdebted  to  Mr.  A.  Monell,  formerly  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  for  a  careful 
reading  of  the  manuscript  in  conjunction  with  a  naval  attache  of  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment. The  manuscript  has  also  been  read  by  Mr.  Julian  Kennedy.  Much  infonnatior 
has  been  taken  at  first  hand  from  the  Russian  Journal  of  Financial  Statistics  and  The 
Mining  "Industries  of  Russia,  and  some  from  Consular  Report  No.  555  of  the  British 
Foreign  office.  A  paper  by  Bauerman,  Journal  /.  &  S.  I.,  Vol.  1, 1898,  and  articles  in 
Stahl  und  Eisen,  by  Neumark  and  Houvy,  furnished  much  in  the  way  of  detail.  A  de- 
scription by  Head*  of  the  South  Russian  industry  has  also  been  drawn  upon.  In  statis- 
tics concerning  Russia,  the  weights  are  given  in  poods  and  the  values  in  roubles.  One 
pood  is -about  36.14  pounds,  and  hence  62  poods  are  one  gross  ton.  A  rouble  is  51.5  cents, 
and  this  is  one  hundred  kopecks  or  copecks. 

SECTION  XX Via. — General  View: 

Within  ten  years  Russia  has  trebled  her  production  of  pig-iron 
and  increased  her  output  of  steel  fourfold.  No  other  nation  can 
show  such  a  record.  All  the  force  of  an  autocratic  government  has 
been  applied  to  the  building  up  of  home  industries ;  ore  is  admitted 
free,  a  bounty  is  paid  on  all  pig-iron  exported,  and  the  freight  rates 
are  very  low,  while  pig-iron  pays  a  duty  of  $14.00  per  ton  and  steel 
plates  $29.  The  Government  owns  two-thirds  of  the  railways, 
pays  $40  per  ton  for  rails,  and  it  buys  40  per  cent,  of  all  the 
pig-iron  that  is  not  converted  into  steel.  In  1899  the  price  of 
foundry  pig  in  South  Russia  was  $25.50  per  ton,  but  in  the  panic 
of  1901  it  fell  for  a  time  to  $14.50.  Four-fifths  of  the  population 
in  Russia  are  rude  mediaeval  peasants,  using  few  iron  implements. 
The  Government  is,  therefore,  almost  the  only  purchaser  of  iron 
products. 

The  policy  has  been  to  encourage  manufacture,  especially  in 
South  Russia,  and  the  large  dividends  attracted  foreign  capital. 
The  New  Russia  Company,  the  oldest  and  largest  steel  works,  has 
declared  dividends  since  1889  of  from  15  to  125  per  cent.  In  1899 
the  aggregate  capital  of  foreign  companies  in  Russia  was  over 
$70,000,000,  more  than  half  being  in  mining  interests.  The  Bel- 

*  Journal  Society  of  Arts,  London,  Dec.,  1902 
563 


564 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


gians  especially  have  taken  an  active  part  in  the  iron  industry,  and 
out  of  a  total  of  55  blast  furnaces  in  South  Eussia,  21  are  operated 
by  Belgian  capital.  Many  extensive  plants  have  been  built  without 
inquiry  into  local  conditions,  relying  on  the  Government  to  buy 
whatever  was  made  at  such  a  price  that  dividends  could  be  de- 
clared. The  Bourses  of  the  Continent  swallowed  anything  with  a 
Eussian  name,  but  the  inevitable  crisis  came  in  1899  and  1900,  the 
Government  refusing  to  pay  exorbitant  prices,  and  a  process  of 
natural  selection  is  now  in  progress.  The  situation  of  many  con- 
cerns is  indicated  by  the  official  report  of  a  French  company,  which 
pathetically  but  almost  humorously  states  that  the  plant  they  have 
built  in  the  lonely  forests  of  the  Ural  is  suffering  from  "the  ab- 
sence of  mines  and  railways  near  the  works."  Naturally,  this  great 
crisis  has  had  its  effect  on  the  imports  of  iron  and  steel,  as  shown 
in  Table  XXVI-A. 

TABLE  XXVI-A. 

Imports  of  Iron,  Steel  and  Fuel  into  Eussia;  tons. 


1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

Pig  iron,  

100000 

113000 

139,000 

50000 

Iron 

300000 

320  000 

270000 

97000 

Steel  
Iron  and  steel  goods  
Coal 

90,000 
270,000 
2  150000 

74,000 
280,000 
2500000 

48,000 
300,000 
4000000 

•     20'000 
220,000 
4000000 

Coke  

400000 

450000 

550,000 

540,000 

The  importation  of  iron  and  steel  fell  off  owing  to  the  necessity 
of  finding  a  market  for  the  home  production.  The  imports  of  coal 
and  coke  did  not  decrease,  because  they  are  brought  to  the  plants  in 
Northern  Eussia  and  Poland  which  depend  entirely  on  outside 
sources  of  supply. 

Everywhere  in  Eussia  the  iron  manufacturer  has  two  troubles: 
If  he  is  near  coal,  the  ore  is  uncertain  or  being  rapidly  exhausted ; 
if  near  good  ore,  there  is  no  fuel.  In  either  event  the  labor  is  in- 
efficient, for  the  men  come  from  the  agricultural  class  and  seldom 
break  off  connection  with  their  native  village,  many  working  in 
factories  only  during  the  winter  and  going  back  to  the  farms  in  the 
spring.  The  Government  watches  over  them  with  paternal  care. 
No  man  may  work  continuously  for  twelve  hours,  and  at  night  the 
hours  must  not  exceed  ten.  On  days  preceding  holidays  the  day 
work  must  not  be  over  ten  hours,  and  work  must  cease  at  noon  the 


RUSSIA. 


565 


day  before  Christmas.  There  are  fourteen  holidays,  in  addition 
to  Sundays,  obligatory  on  members  of  the  Russo-Greek  Church,  and 
there  are  many  regulations  about  individual  written  contracts  with 
each  laborer,  to  violate  which  is  a  serious  offense  for  either  work- 


RFSSIi 


FIG.  XXVI-A. 

man  or  employer.  For  joining  a  strike  a  man  may  serve  a  year 
in  prison,  as  this  involves  a  violation  of  a  written  agreement.  These 
rules,  although  enforced  with  autocratic  completeness,  are  tempered 
by  regulations  that  allow  for  accidents  and  for  extraordinary  repairs. 


566 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


The  Government  insists  on  complete  arrangements  regarding  the 
health  and  welfare  of  the  workmen  in  their  home  life.  The  New 
Russia  Company,  in  Southern  Russia,  employs  14,500  workmen. 
Only  150  of  these  are  women,  a  showing  which  compares  more  than 
favorably  with  conditions  across  the  Austrian  border.  The  com- 
pany supports  a  hospital  with  106  beds  and  a  dispensary  with  six 
doctors,  five  surgeons5  assistants,  two  midwives,  one  apothecary  and 
two  assistants,  the  cost  of  this  department  amounting  to  $36,000  per 
year.  It  supports  a  system  of  schools  costing  $75,000  per  year,  and 
tea  houses,  baths,  etc.,  etc.  That  all  this  is  good  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned, but  that  it  is  a  regulation  of  the  State  bespeaks  a  paternal 
government,  and  a  people  who  need  a  paternal  government,  and  this 
is  a  people  who  are  in  a  certain  stage  of  evolution  and  who  must 
develop  for  more  than  one  generation  before  the  common  peasant 
becomes  the  industrial  equal  of  the  artisan  of  America. 

As  might  be  expected  in  a  country  so  great,  there  are  several 
centers  of  production,  and  owing  to  the  undeveloped  condition  of 
transportation  the  distances  intervening  between  these  centers  acts 
as  a  commercial  protection.  This  is  true  in  every  country  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  but  Russia  presents  extreme  examples.  The 

TABLE  XXVI-B. 

Approximate  Annual  Output  of  Coal,  Ore,  Iron  and  Steel  in 
Russia;  tons. 


District. 

Coal. 

Ore. 

Blast 
Furnaces. 

Pig  Iron. 

Steel. 

Wrought 
Iron. 

Cold  Blast. 

Hot  Blast. 

1 

South  

11,750,000 
350,000 
4,000,000 
100,000 

3,120,000 
1,610,000 
490,000 
650,000 
30,000 
90,000 

3 
33 
2 
9 
4 
3 

37 

102 
33 
45 
5 

17 

40 
135 
35 
54 
9 
20 

1,350,000 
640,000 
300,000 
90,000 
20,000 
30,000 

980,000 
290,000 
280,000 
190,000 
180,000 
20,000 

60,000 
250,000 
70,000 
50,000 
90,000 
20,000 

Urals  

Poland  

Moscow  

North 

Siberia  and  Finland.  .  . 

Total 

16,200,000 

5,990,000 

54 

239 

293 

2,430,000 

1,940,000 

540,000 

Moscow  district,  in  the  center  of  Russia,,  is  600  miles  from  the 
works  in  Poland,  or  from  those  in  Ekaterinoslav,  while  Poland  and 
South  Russia  are  separated  by  an  equal  distance.  The  Ural  district 


RUSSIA.  567 

is  still  more  isolated,  being  nearly  900  miles  from  Moscow,  1200 
miles  from  the  Sea  of  Azov  and  more  than  that  from  Poland.  Fig. 
XXVI-A  shows  the  distribution  of  the  iron  industry  and  Table 
XXVI-B  gives  more  definite  statistics.  The  output  of  steel  in 
1899  was  1,939,000  tons,  but  it  has  decreased  since  then  on  account 
of  business  conditions.  One-third  of  the  output  in  1899  was  made 
in  the  Bessemer  converter  and  two-thirds  in  the  open-hearth  furnace. 
The  output  of  rails  was  530,000  tons,  about  one-quarter  being  made 
by  the  New  Russia  Company. 

SEC.  XXVIb.— The  South: 

The  predominant  factors  in  Russian  development  are  the  South 
Russian  coal  fields  in  the  basin  of  the  Don  and  the  ore  beds  of 
Krivoi  Rog.  The  coal  deposits  cover  an  area  of  about  8000  square 
miles  and  contain  fourteen  thousand  million  tons  of  fuel.  There 
are  nearly  three  hundred  mines  opened,  but  three-quarters  of  the 
product  comes  from  fifteen  openings.  The  seams  are  of  moderate 
thickness,  not  exceeding  seven  feet  and  as  a  rule  from  three  to  four 
feet.  One  seam  which  is  worked  is  only  sixteen  inches.  Head  gives 
$1.92  as  the  cost  of  a  ton  of  coal  and  $3.35  for  a  ton  of  coke,  both 
figures  being  the  cost  at  the  mines.  The  district  in  1888  produced 
2,205,000  tons,  6,686,000  in  1897  and  12,000,000  in  1903,  being 
three-quarters  of  all  the  coal  that  was  raised  in  Russia,  The  coal 
varies  from  lignite  to  anthracite,  the  same  seam  being  quite  different 
in  places  a  few  miles  apart.  The  anthracite  beds  are  more  exten- 
sive than  those  furnishing  soft  coal,  but  the  furnaces  at  Salin  are 
the  only  ones  using  hard  coal  for  smelting.  The  bituminous  va- 
rieties are  high  in  sulphur,  ranging  from  1  to  4  per  cent.  The 
coke  is  of  poor  physical  structure  and  most  of  the  coal  needs  to  be 
washed,  several  plants  for  this  purpose  having  recently  been  put  in 
operation.  The  best  beds  give  a  coke  containing  8  per  cent,  ash  and 
1.1  per  cent,  sulphur,  but  other  coals  give  up  to  25  per  cent,  ash 
and  4  per  cent,  sulphur.  In  1900  there  were  made  2,500,000  tons 
of  coke,  but  not  more  than  one-third  the  coal  used  for  this  purpose 
could  be  called  true  coking  coal.  The  volatile  matter  at  some  plants 
is  18  to  21  per  cent.,  while  in  other  places  the  proportion  is  higher. 
In  1900  there  were  4000  ovens,  two-thirds  of  which  were  of  the 
Coppee  type,  no  by-product  plants  being  in  use. 

The  ore  in  the  basin  of  the  Don  is  of  little  importance,  the  near- 
est deposits  being  in  Krivoi  Rog  in  Kherson,  on  the  border  of 


568 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


RUSSIA. 


569 


Ekaterinoslav.  The  deposit  varies  greatly  in  composition  and 
character,  the  richest  ore  being  pulverulent  and  giving  trouble  in 
the  blast  furnace  on  account  of  this  fine  condition.  Most  of  the 
beds  are  near  the  surface  and  are  mined  open-cut.  Head  gives  the 
following  as  representative: 


Dried  at  212"  F. 

Fe. 

P. 

SiO3 

Combined  water. 

Southern  beds  

58.4 

.095 

8.2 

6.45 

Northern  beds             .  . 

67  8 

032 

4.7 

3.20 

The  amount  in  sight  is  limited  and  most  of  the  good  deposits  are 
owned  by  companies  that  smelt  their  own  output  and  sell  no  ore. 
The  cost  of  a  ton  of  Krivoi  Rog  ore,  including  16  cents  royalty,  is 
given  by  Head  as  $1.28.  The  steel  works  are  scattered  along  the 
railway  from  the  ore  mines  to  the  coal  field,  a  distance  of  260  miles, 
but  the  freight  rate  for  the  long  haul  is  about  0.64  cents  per  ton- 
mile,  and  the  average  freight  on  ore  for  the  works  in  the  coal  basin 
will  be  about  $1.90,  giving  a  total  cost  of  $3.18  per  ton  of  ore,  de- 
livered at  the  coal  district. 

Large  deposits  of  ore  have  also  been  opened  at  Kertsch,  about  300 
miles  to  the  south  across  the  Sea  of  Azov,  the  bed  being  near  the 
surface  and  worked  with  steam  shovels.  The  layer  is  30  feet  thick, 
but  the  upper  and  lower  portions  are  poor,  and  only  the  middle 
stratum,  comprising  two-thirds  of  the  whole,  is  used.  Neumark 
states  that  the  ore  runs  from  40  to  46  per  cent,  in  iron,  and  that  the 
cost  of  pig-iron  made  from  it  is  from  $11  to  $12.50  per  ton.  On 
the  other  hand,  Head  says  that  the  "Kertsch  deposits  are  not  im- 
portant/' and  in  the  discussion  of  his  paper  it  was  stated  that  this 
ore  contained  only  from  20  to  22  per  cent,  of  iron. 

In  1899  the  production  of  ore  in  South  Russia  was  as  follows : 


Tons. 

Krivoi  Rog  

2,650,000 

Local  Donetz  

180000 

Kertsch 

190000 

Total 

3020000 

South  Russia  in  1887  produced  only  161,000  tons  of  iron  ore, 
but  in  1897  the  output  had  risen  to  1,898,000  tons,  and  in  1899  to 


570 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


3,120,000  tons  or  over  half  the  output  of  the  Empire.  In  1900  it 
was  estimated  that  the  Kertsch  peninsula  would  raise  600,000  tons. 
The  tonnage  of  wrought-iron  and  steel  in  1899  was  twelve  times 
what  it  was  ten  years  before.  In  1888  this  district  made  only  13 
per  cent,  of  the  pig-iron  and  18  per  cent,  of  the  steel  made  in 
Russia ;  in  1899  it  made  over  50  per  cent,  of  both  pig-iron  and  steel. 
In  addition  to  these  products  South  Russia  turns  out  100,000 
tons  per  year  of  manganese  ore,  but  this  is  overshadowed  by  the  Cau- 
casus region  in  the  southeast,  which  furnished  one-half  of  the  en- 
tire supply  of  the  world.  The  output  of  manganese  ore  from  the 
Caucasus  in  1900  was  662,000  tons  averaging  53  per  cent,  of  man- 
ganese. During  that  year  Russia  exported  440,000  tons.  In  1900 
there  were  17  iron  works  in  South  Russia,  the  most  important  being 
given  in  Table  XXVI-C,  the  new  works  in  Kertsch  not  being  in- 
cluded. Most  of  these  works  own  collieries  in  the  Donetz  field  and 
ore  mines  in  the  Krivoi  Rog  district.  Table  XXVI-C  shows  that 
over  half  the  works  are  in  the  coal  region. 

TABLE  XXVI-C. 

Principal  Iron  and  Steel  Works  in  South  Russia  in  1900,  and 
Annual  Production  of  Iron  and  Steel. 


Pig  iron  ; 
tons. 

Finished 
iron  and 
steel;  tons. 

Number 
of  men 
employed. 

Near  the  Donetz  Coal  Field  : 
New  Russia  Company  

270000 

153000 

8319* 

Petrovski,  Russo-Belgian  Met  Co 

148000 

107000 

2  689 

Donetz-Yurieff  Met.  Co,  

110,000 

32000 

3240 

Donetz  Ironworks  and  Steel  Co 

95000 

76000 

2371 

Olkovaia  Furnaces  and  Works  Co..  . 

80000 

'458 

Sulinski  

40000 

3  091 

Near  the  Krivoi  Rog  Ore  Field  : 
South  Russia  Dnieper  Met.  Co.                 

210000 

170000 

6636 

Alexandrovski,  Briansk.  S.  Russia  Co  

145,000 

90,000 

7,174 

On  the  Sea  of  Azov  : 
Taganrog  Met.  Co. 
Nikupol  Mariupol  Min.  and  Met  Co 

80,000 
76000 

65,000 
23000 

3,122 
1  619 

"  Russian  Providence  ;  "  Mariupol  

70000 

40000 

1841 

SEC.  XX Vic.— The  Urals: 

The  Ural  district  presents  problems  of  peculiar  interest.     The 
ores  have  long  been  known  and  the  iron  from  the  beds  of  Mount 

*  It  has  been  previously  stated  on  the  authority  of  the  Russian  Journal  of  Financial 
Statistics,  that  the  number  of  workmen  in  1899  in  all  the  works  of  the  New  Russia 
Co.  was  14,500.  It  is  stated  in  a  British  Consular  Report  that  the  number  is  8,319. 
It  is  probable  that  the  latter  figure  omits  some  of  the  mines  or  associated  industries. 


KUSSIA.  571 

Tagil  has  been  famous  all  over  the  world.  The  deposits  are  scat- 
tered over  quite  a  distance  north  and  south,  both  on  the  eastern  and 
western  slopes  of  the  range,  and  lie  between  54°  and  60°  north  lati- 
tude and  56°  and  62°  east  longitude,  an  area  about  240  by  420  miles. 
Some  of  the  beds  are  brown  ore,  occurring  in  strata  130  feet  thick 
and  containing  60  per  cent,  of  iron  after  roasting,  while  other  de- 
posits are  of  magnetite  and  are  among  the  most  important  in  the 
world. 

The  chief  center  of  the  eastern  Urals  is  near  Nisjne  Tagual, 
where  the  hill  known  as  Wissokaia  Gora  offers  a  deposit  about  a 
mile  square,  in  which  the  best  ore  runs  from  60  to  65  per  cent,  in 
iron.  The  famous  iron  mountain  of  Blagodat  is  thirty  miles  north 
of  Nisjne  Tagual  and  three  miles  from  the  Kouchwa  station  on 
the  Ural  Railway.  This  mountain  is  seamed  with  ore  running  from 
52  to  58  per  cent,  in  iron.  The  more  northern  deposits  in  the  Ural 
district  are  difficult  of  access,  but  the  southern  are  on  the  line  of  the 
railway  from  Perm  to  Ekaterinburg. 

In  1888  this  district  produced  over  one-half  of  all  the  pig-iron 
made  in  Eussia.  Since  then  the  proportion  has  decreased,  owing  to 
the  growth  of  South  Russia,  but  the  actual  tonnage  of  pig-iron  has 
doubled  and  the  output  of  steel  increased  ninefold.  This  develop- 
ment has  gone  on  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  good  fuel  is  scarce. 
There  are  large  deposits  of  coal,  but  the  quality  is  bad,  the  ash  run- 
ning from  17  to  23  per  cent.,  and  it  gives  a  poor  coke.  A  little 
anthracite  is  found  on  the  western  side  of  the  mountains,  but  it  has 
not  been  used  to  any  extent.  The  almost  universal  fuel  is  charcoal, 
and  this  is  not  always  of  the  best.  In  the  southern  part  pine  wood 
is  used  and  the  blast  furnaces  are  built  as  much  as  59  feet  high,  this 
being  the  maximum  allowable,  but  northward  the  charcoal  becomes 
poorer  and  the  possible  height  of  the  furnaces  less,  so  that  in  the 
Central  Urals  they  are  only  50  feet  and  in  the  northern  part  only 
42  feet,  the  average  production  for  one  furnace  per  day  being 
twenty  tons. 

It  may  seem  impracticable  to  carry  on  metallurgical  operations  on 
a  vast  scale  when  charcoal  is  the  only  available  fuel,  but  certain 
things  must  be  taken  into  account.  First :  The  great  iron  district 
of  South  Russia  is  1200  miles  away — rather  far  for  Russian  railways 
— and  when  it  comes  to  water  transportation  the  advantage  is  all  the 
other  way,  for  the  Ural  iron  works  would  be  shipping  down  stream. 


572  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

This  is  an  important  matter  in  Russia,  where  there  is  an  immense 
commerce  in  the  transportation  of  products  down  river  on  rafts  and 
barges  which  are  broken  up  for  lumber  at  the  end  of  the  journey, 
there  being  no  need  of  a  return  cargo. 

Second:  The  Russian  Government  prohibits  the  destructive  de- 
foresting of  lands,  so  that  the  same  area  may  be  reckoned  as  afford- 
ing a  sure  supply  of  charcoal  in  a  given  number  of  years. 

Third:  After  allowing  for  the  growth  of  population,  the  Urals 
have  40,000,000  acres  of  perpetual  forest  land,  equal  to  a  space 
250  miles  square,  and  this  will  produce  charcoal  sufficient  to  make 
4,700,000  tons  of  pig-iron  per  year.  This  charcoal  can  be  made  for 
$4.25  per  ton. 

Fourth :   The  ore  is  abundant  and  some  of  it  of  the  best  quality. 

These  facts  are  not  disputed  and  it  becomes  a  question  why  there 
is  not  a  more  rapid  development  in  the  region.  This  subject  was 
made  the  occasion  for  an  investigation  by  the  Government.  It  was 
shown  that  onerous  restrictions  and  routine  imposed  by  the  Govern- 
ment itself  were  responsible  for  much  of  the  trouble,  in  great  con- 
trast to  the  encouragement  given  to  industries  in  South  Eussia. 
Quite  as  serious  a  matter  was  the  system  of  land  tenure,  for  a  great 
part  of  the  land  has  not  yet  been  allotted  to  the  serfs  set  free  a 
generation  ago,  and  as  no  man  knows  what  land  he  will  have  or  how 
much  he  will  get,  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  he  will  take  much 
interest  in  any  part  of  it,  or  spend  money  on  improvements.  An- 
other factor  is  the  law  providing  that  landed  proprietors  must  fur- 
nish steady  work  to  people  living  on  the  estate,  and  under  these  cir- 
cumstances it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  labor-saving  machinery 
will  be  introduced. 

A  peculiar  feature  is  the  status  of  what  are  styled  "Possession 
Works."  These  are  owned  by  the  Government  and  leased  to  indi- 
viduals or  companies.  They  embrace  6,000,000  acres  of  forest  land, 
equal  to  an  area  100  miles  square,  and  the  blast  furnaces  produce 
200,000  tons  per  year,  or  one-third  the  production  of  the  Urals. 
The  terms  of  lease  prohibit  the  proprietor  from  making  improve- 
ments or  changes  without  special  authority  from  the  State.  There 
are  numberless  petty  prohibitions,  as,  for  instance,  the  sub-letting  of 
leaseholds,  etc.,  that  render  an  efficient  management  entirely  out  of 
the  question.  Coupled  to  these  conditions  is  the  natural  opposition 
of  mediaeval  feudal  proprietors  to  changing  the  existing  order. 


RUSSIA.  573 

Some  day  the  spirit  of  enterprise  which  is  now  transforming  Russia 
may  take  hold  of  this  remote  corner  of  the  Empire,  and  when  the 
great  plains  of  Siberia  and  Eastern  Russia  are  more  thickly  peopled 
we  may  have  the  curious  condition  of  an  immense  iron  and  steel 
producing  district  with  charcoal  as  the  only  fuel. 

It  may  also  be  possible  that  some  of  the  best  ores  may  be  trans- 
ported 1200  miles  to  the  Donetz  coal  basin,  or  that  the  coal  may 
be  taken  to  the  ore.  The  prohibitive  distances  intervening  between 
outside  countries  and  the  center  of  the  Continent  make  many  things 
possible  when  the  time  comes  that  the  plains  of  Asia  are  covered 
with  cities,  or  when  they  will  be  laid  out  with  railway  systems  as 
the  Great  Desert  of  our  own  West  has  been  reconstructed  in  a 
generation. 

One  solution  to  the  transportation  problem  in  the  Urals  is  being 
given  by  a  company  which  is  building  a  plant  of  six  15-ton  open- 
hearth  furnaces  at  Tsaritain  on  the  Volga.  The  pig-iron  will  be 
made  in  charcoal  furnaces  in  the  Urals  and  be  brought  900  miles  on 
barges  by  river,  and  it  must  all  be  brought  on  the  summer  freshet, 
as  the  upper  tributaries  are  only  navigable  at  that  time.  The  fuel  is 
naphtha,  which  will  be  brought  700  miles  from  Batoum  by  way  of 
the  Caspian  Sea  and  the  Volga. 

One  of  the  principal  works  in  the  Urals  is  the  Nijni  Tagual, 
owned  by  Demidoff,  Prince  San-Donato.  This  is  near  the  ore  de- 
posits of  Blagodat  and  Vissiokaia  and  has  eleven  blast  furnaces, 
twelve  open-hearth  furnaces  and  a  Bessemer  plant.  The  output  of 
this  plant  during  1899  was  72,886  tons  of  pig-iron  and  52,070  tons 
of  wrought-iron  and  steel.  This  record  of  the  largest  and  best- 
known  works  in  the  district  will  give  an  idea  of  the  general 
condition.  The  largest  works  in  the  Southern  Urals  is  near  the  ore 
mine  of  Komarowo,  but  its  output  is  only  2000  tons  of  pig-iron  per 
month.  This  ore  deposit  is  a  brown  hematite,  but  a  little  distance 
to  the  eastward  is  an  immense  deposit  of  magnetite  at  Magnitnaja 
or  the  "Iron  Mountain." 

SEC.  XXVId.— Poland: 

With  the  exception  of  Ekerinoslav,  Poland  is  the  only  part  of 
Russia  where  extensive  deposits  of  coal  are  found.  In  1888  the 
Dombrova  field,  in  the  Bendzin  district,  province  of  Petrokov,  in 
Poland,  produced  2,376,000  tons  of  coal,  being  slightly  more  than 
Southern  Russia,  but  in  1903  Poland  had  increased  only  to  4,750,- 


574  THE  IRON"  INDUSTRY. 

000,  while  South  Eussia  raised  12,000,000  tons.  The  coal  of  the 
Dombrovski  basin  is  an  extension  of  the  Silesian  deposit  and  gives 
a  poorer  coke  than  is  made  in  German  and  Austrian  territory.  The 
blast  furnaces  therefore  bring  almost  all  their  supply  from  Aus- 
trian Silesia  and  Moravia.  This  condition  has  caused  a  very  slow 
development  of  the  coal  industry,  the  increase  in  output  in  the 
three  years  from  1897  to  1900  being  only  6  per  cent.  In  this  latter 
year  Poland  produced  26  per  cent,  of  all  the  coal  raised,  the  South 
contributing  69  per  cent,  and  all  other  portions  of  the  Empire  only 
5  per  cent. 

There  are  some  deposits  of  iron  ore  in  Poland,  and  nearly  one 
hundred  mines  where  brown  hematite  and  spherosiderite  are  found, 
but  the  ore  is  lean  and  variable,  holding  20  to  50  per  cent,  of  iron 
and  the  amount  produced  is  unimportant.  In  1899  only  488,000 
tons  were  raised,  half  of  which  came  from  the  province  of  Eadom. 
The  composition  was  30  per  cent,  of  iron  in  the  raw  stone  and  35 
per  cent,  when  roasted.  In  recent  years  the  ores  of  the  Krivoi  Eog 
have  been  brought  700  miles  to  replace  the  local  supply.  There  are 
40  iron  plants  in  the  district,  but  they  are  as  a  rule  very  small. 
Almost  all  the  iron  is  made  in  four  works,  of  which  the  principal 
is  the  Huta  Bankowa,  operated  by  French  capital,  possessing  three 
blast  furnaces  making  together  about  250  tons  of  iron  per  day,  and 
eleven  open-hearth  furnaces.  There  is  quite  a  forge  and  tube  plant 
at  Warsaw,  with  open-hearth  furnaces  running  on  imported  pig- 
iron,  though  blast  furnaces  are  now  building.  The  Briansk  Com- 
pany, which  has  a  works  in  South  Eussia  at  Ekaterinoslav,  also  has 
a  plant  in  Poland  at  Grodno. 

In  1888  Poland  produced  51,000  tons  of  steel  and  in  1899  it 
made  282,000  tons,  and  yet  owing  to  the  advance  in  South  Russia 
the  percentage  of  total  production  made  in  this  province  was  less 
at  the  later  period. 

SEC.  XXVIe.— The  Center: 

The  district  of  Central  Eussia  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  Empire 
and  includes  an  area  two  hundred  miles  square,  with  Moscow  at  its 
northwest  corner.  There  is  a  little  coal  found  here,  but  it  is  the 
worst  in  Eussia,  being  high  in  ash  and  sulphur  and  of  poor  struc- 
ture. Formerly  there  were  large  forests,  but  two-thirds  of  this  area 
is  now  denuded  and  charcoal  has  risen  to  prohibitory  prices.  There 
is  a  limited  amount  of  brown  and  spathic  ores,  the  latter  in  the  best 


RUSSIA.  575 

beds  averaging  about  50  per  cent,  of  iron,  giving  59  per  cent,  in  the 
roasted  ore.  The  silica  is  10  per  cent.  The  home  supply  of  raw 
material  is  so  poor  that  coke  is  brought  350  miles  from  the  Donetz 
basin,  and  ore  from  the  Krivoi  Eog  and  Kertsch,  the  distance  for 
the  latter  being  about  600  miles.  The  recent  depression  in  the 
Eussian  trade  seriously  affected  this  district,  the  large  furnaces  at 
Lipetzk  and  other  smaller  plants  being  closed  down  at  the  end  of 
3901.  The  Vyksa  and  Shipov  works,  however,  increased  their  out- 
put during  the  year. 

SEC.  XXVIf.— The  North: 

The  district  of  North  Eussia  includes  the  province  of  Peters- 
burg, Olonetz  and  Courland.  There  are  some  deposits  of  magne- 
tites and  lake  ores,  and  works  have  been  operated  for  a  long  time, 
using  charcoal  as  fuel.  The  present  output  of  ore  and  pig-iron  is 
small,  but  by  the  importation  of  fuel  and  pig-iron,  mostly  from 
England,  a  considerable  amount  of  steel  is  made. 

TABLE  XXVI-D. 
Imports  at  St.  Petersburg  in  1899. 

Tons. 

Pig-iron    9,000 

Coke 128,000 

Coal   1,639,000 

There  are  several  works  of  some  size  in  the  north,  the  Poutiloff, 
Nevski,  Alexandrovsky,  Kolpino  and  Obeuhoff  being  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  St.  Petersburg.  The  Poutiloff  is  the  largest,  having  two 
converters  and  twelve  open-hearth  furnaces.  Another  works,  the 
Petrozavodsk,  is  situated  one  hundred  miles  away  at  Ladogua. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 

This  chapter  was  reviewed  by  the  late  Ernest  Bertrand  who  was  general  manager  at 
.Kladno  and  by  the  late  Carl  Sjogren,  who  was  engineer  at  Donawitz. 

SECTION  XX Vila. — General  View: 

The  steel  production  of  Austria  demands  attention  on  account  of 
the  energetic  way  in  which  improvements  have  been  made  in  recent 
years,  and  because  her  metallurgists  have  always  been  progressive. 
As  far  back  as  November,  1863,  acid  Bessemer  steel  was  made  at 
Turrach,  in  Styria,  and  this  was  followed  in  the  next  year  by  Neu- 
berg,  and  by  eight  others  soon  afterwards.  The  Thomas  Gilchrist 
basic  Bessemer  process  was  ushered  into  the  world  in  1878  and  only 
one  year  later  the  first  charge  was  made  at  Kladno,  in  Bohemia. 
In  the  same  year  both  T'eplitz  and  Witkowitz  adopted  the  practice. 

The  steel  industry  of  Austria  exists  in  three  districts  shown  in 
Fig.  XXVII-A:  Moravia  and  Silesia  in  the  north  and  east;  BO- 
TABLE  XXVII-A. 

Approximate  Annual   Output  of  Fuel,   Ore,   Iron   and   Steel   in 
Austria-Hungary;  tons. 


Province.        , 

Bitumi- 
nous Coal. 

Lignite. 

.Ore. 

Pig  Iron. 

Steel. 

Bohemia-  .  ... 

3600000 

18260000 

680  000 

260  000 

210000 

Styria  

2,590  000 

1210000 

300,(XX) 

250000 

Moravia  

1  480000 

190000 

10000 

260000 

Silesia  

4,700,000 

60,000 

|-  235,000 

Gallicia  

1,170,000 

80000 

Hungary  .           

1,240  000 

4290000 

1  570000 

430  000 

350000 

Other  provinces 

40000 

1  000000 

70000 

50000 

90  000 

Total  . 

12230000 

26  410  000 

3  540  000 

1  360000 

1  135  000 

hernia  in  the  northwest,  and  Styria  and  Carinthia  in  the  southwest. 
Not  one  possesses  all  the  essentials  for  cheap  production,  for  Bo- 
hemia and  Styria  have  no  coke,  and  Moravia  no  ore.  Moreover,  the 

576 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 


577 


situation  of  Austria  does  not  facilitate  international  trade,  especially 
as  Russia  has  a  decided  protective  tariff  system.  For  this  reason  the 
Austrian  industry  is  not  specialized  and  cannot  tend  toward  a  heavy 


production  of  one  line  of  work,  but  toward  a  diversified  output,  and 
for  this  reason  also  the  basic  open-hearth  is  becoming  the  general 
method  of  manufacture.  A  considerable  amount  is  made  by  the 
basic  Bessemer,  but  very  little  by  the  acid  open-hearth,  while  dur- 
ing January,  1901,  there  was  blown  what  will  probably  be  the  last 


578 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


heat  of  acid  Bessemer  steel.  The  statistics  of  production  are  given 
in  Tables  XXVII-A  and  XXVII-B,  the  latter  showing  how  the 
basic  process  has  supplanted  the  work  on  acid  linings. 

TABLE  XXVII-B. 
Production  of  Steel  in  Austria  (not  including  Hungary). 


V 

Year. 

Bessemer  Steel. 

Open  Hearth  Steel. 

Total 
Steel. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Total. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Total. 

0    CAQ 

79  848 

19  697 

19  697 

99,545 

•IQ  on 

17  835 

92  862 

20  481 

20481 

113.348 

01  QCQ 

120  168 

29  846 

29  846 

150014 

TftftO 

101  230 

57  714 

158  944 

39  740 

39  740 

198,684 

101*254 

88  429 

189  683 

43  797 

43  797 

233,480 

1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 

86,855 
88,288 
60,016 
67,620 
76,533 
72,849 
76,684 

70,987 
76,821 
105,839 
118,379 
139,127 
126,502 
103,180 

157,842 
165,109 
165,855 
185,999 
215,660 
199,351 
179,864 

40,009 
41,021 
25,861 
18,309 
25,572 
32,121 
29,204 

40,009 
41,021 
37,065 
47,940 
76.534 
109,637 
163,012 

197,851 
206,130 
202,920 
233,939 
292,194 
308,988 
342,876 

11,204 
29,631 
50,962 
77,516 
133,808 

1891 
1892 

60,713 
50,379 

95,061 
100,841 

155,774 
151,220 

27,800 
20,114 

150,493 
180,951 

178,293 
201,065 

334,067 
352,285 

1893 
1894 

48,657 
47,784 

108,104 
133,131 

156,761 
180,915 

19,794 
17,729 

203,894 
254,835 

223,688 
272,564 

380,449 
453,479 

1895 
1896 

46,502 
46,931 

127,816 
157,216 

174,318 
204,147 

18,576 
21,587 

304,747 
356,973 

323,323 
378,560 

497,641 
582,707 

1897 

38,713 

167,688 

206,401 

14,764 

405,098 

419,852 

626,253 

1898 

41,963 

184,650 

226,613 

15,952 

480,125 

496,077 

722,690 

1899 
1900 

38,538 
18,214 

186,643 
182,809 

225,181 
201,023 

18,314 
23,196 

540,894 
557,110 

559,208 
580,306 

784,389 
781,329 

Owing  to  the  high  freight  rates  and  the  long  distances  from  the 
northern  coal  districts  to  the  southern  parts  of  the  Empire  a  large 
quantity  of  coal  is  imported  at  southern  ports.  In  the  year  1899 
the  total  coal  raised  was  41,000,000  tons,  but  only  11,450,000  was 
bituminous,  the  remainder  being  lignite.  In  the  same  year  the 
imports  amounted  to  17,000,000.  The  gas  works  at  Trieste  sells 
coke  for  domestic  use  at  $9.30  per  ton.  A  large  quantity  of  West- 
phalian  coke  is  brought  to  the  blast  furnaces  of  Bohemia  and  even 
to  Styria,  since  the  coke  districts  of  Moravia  and  Silesia  are  unable 
to  meet  the  demand.  There  is  one  large  blast  furnace  at  Trieste 
which  uses  coke  from  England  and  sometimes  ocean-borne  coke 
from  Westphalia,  and  the  smaller  charcoal  furnaces  in  the  south 
often  use  a  certain  proportion  of  imported  coke.  The  total  produc- 
tion of  coke  in  Austria  in  1900  was  1,227,918  tons,  almost  all  in 
Moravia  and  Silesia.  The  production  of  Hungary  was  only  10,000 
tons. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.  579 

To  balance  the  considerable  quantities  of  coke  coming  into 
Austria  from  Germany,  there  are  large  amounts  of  brown  coal  (lig- 
nite) carried  from  Bohemia  into  Germany.  It  goes  northward  by 
water  transports  on  the  Elbe  to  Magdeburg,  and  even  to  Hamburg, 
meeting  there  the  competition  of  English  and  Westphalian  fuel. 

SEC.  XXYIIb.— Bohemia  (see  No.  1  on  Map)  : 

This  province  is  well  supplied  with  fuel,  although  there  is  no 
good  coking  coal.  It  raises  nearly  four  million  tons  of  soft  coal  each 
year  and  eighteen  million  tons  of  lignite,  most  of  the  latter  coming 
from  the  vicinity  of  Teplitz.  Bohemia  also  has  a  supply  of  iron  ore 
well  suited  for  the  basic  Bessemer.  It  carries  from  0.6  to  0.8  per 
cent,  of  sulphur  and  is  roasted  and  leached  with  water  to  dissolve 
the  sulphates,  after  which  treatment  it  averages  about  as  follows : 

Per  cent. 

Fe   42.00  to  48.00 

P 1.2 

Mn   0.1 

S 0.3 

The  coke  is  brought  from  Silesia  and  Westphalia.  The  principal 
works  are  those  of  the  Prager  Eisen  Industrie  Gesellschaft  at 
Kladno  and  Teplitz,  and  the  Bohmische  Montan  Gesellschaft  at 
Konigshof.  Kladno  has  four  modern  blast  furnaces,  three  basic  con- 
verters of  13  tons  capacity,  a  basic  open-hearth  plant  and  mills  for 
rolling  rails,  structural  shapes,  wire,  etc.  The  blooming  mill  is 
strong  and  ingots  of  three  tons  are.  rolled  into  rails  and  beams  in 
one  heat.  Teplitz  has  three  basic  converters,  two  heavy  plate  mills 
and  a  beam  mill.  It  receives  pig-iron  from  Konigshof,  where  there 
are  four  modern  blast  furnaces  and  one  basic  converter.  Until  re- 
cently there  was  considerable  business  done  in  small  ingots  only 
four  inches  square,  which  were  rolled  directly  into  small  shapes,  but 
this  practice  is  now  carried  on  only  at  Konigshof  and  in  small 
amount.  It  is  found  more  economical  to  roll  billets  from  large 
ingots  than  to  cast  small  pieces,  this  being  the  trend  of  experience 
throughout  Europe.  It  is  at  Kladno  that  Mr.  Bertrand  developed 
the  Bertrand  Thiel  open-hearth  process  discussed  in  Chapter 
XII.  The  ore  used  in  the  open-hearth  furnaces  is  partly  Gellivare 
(Swedish),  and  some  of  this  is  also  used  in  the  blast  furnace  to 
reduce  the  content  of  phosphorus  in  the  pig-iron  to  about  1.5  per 
cent. 


580 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


It  is  also  necessary  to  mention  the  steel-casting  plant  of  the 
Skoda  Company  at  Pilsen,  which  has  a  high  reputation  for  difficult 
stern  posts,  etc.,  for  large  ships,  and  is  equipped  with  hydraulic 
presses  for  guns  and  armor.  Table  XXVII-C  gives  a  list  of  the 
principal  works  in  Bohemia. 

TABLE  XXVII-C. 

List  of  Steel  Works  in  Bohemia  (Bohmen). 


Nome  of  Plant. 

Location. 

No.  of  Bessemer 
Converters. 

No.  of  Onen 
Hearth  Furnaces. 

Annual 
Output  ; 
tons. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Prager  Eisenindustrie  .  .  .  j 
Boemisphe  Montan  etc 

Kladno  . 

3 
3 
2 

2 

|  160,000 

40,000 
14,000 

Teplitz  



Skoda  Steel  Works         ... 

4 

SEC.  XXVIIc. — Moravia  and  Silesia  (see  No.  2  on  Map) : 
The  coal  field  already  described  as  covering  a  large  part  of  upper 
German  Silesia  extends  into  Austrian  Silesia  and  Moravia.  The 
coal  is  rich,  but  does  not  give  the  best  of  coke.  Immediately  around 
Ostrau,  where  Witkowitz  is  situated,  the  quality  of  the  coke  is  fair, 
but  in  Silesia  it  is  poor.  It  is,  however,  the  only  coke  district  east  of 
Westphalia,  and  forms  the  nucleus  for  a  considerable  iron  indus- 
try. The  coke  is  used  not  only  in  Moravia,  but  in  Bohemia,  and  is 
shipped  across  the  Russian  frontier  to  the  blast  furnaces  in  Poland, 
which  are  almost  entirely  dependent  upon  this  district  for  their 
supply.  The  Styrian  steel  works  has  lately  bought  coal  properties 
in  the  Polish  Moravian  district  and  will  make  coke  at  the  mines 
for  its  furnaces  in  the  southern  district.  The  relative  importance  of 
the  Silesian  coal  district  as  it  affects  the  different  nations  will  be 
seen  from  Table  XXVII-B. 


TABLE  XXVII-D. 
Output  of  the  Silesian  Coal  Field. 

Tons  In  1899. 

Germany ;   Silesia    23,527,000 

Austria;  Moravia  and  Silesia 6,252,000 

Russia ;   Poland    3,905,000 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 


581 


The  province  of  Silesia  produced  three  times  as  much  coal  as 
Moravia,  but  the  latter  division  made  the  most  coke,  as  the  south- 
ern portion  seems  to  give  the  best  material  for  smelting.  The  pre- 
dominant iron  and  steel  producer  in  this  region  is  the  works  at 
Witkowitz  in  the  province  of  Moravia.  This  plant  draws  much  of 
its  ore  from  its  own  mines  in  Hungary,  the  deposit  being  a  car- 
bonate, which  is  roasted.  It  makes  about  one-quarter  of  all  the 
pig-iron  that  is  made  in  Austria,  the  output  being  about  25,000 
tons  per  month.  There  are  six  blast  furnaces  and  two  acid-lined 
converters  and  eight  twenty-ton  basic  open-hearth  furnaces,  which 
are  operated  by  the  duplex  process,  the  pig  being  first  blown  in  an 
acid  converter,  and  then  transferred  to  a  basic  open-hearth  furnace. 
The  pig  is  of  the  following  composition:  Si,  1.2;  Mn,  2.7;  P,  0.2; 
C.  3.7.  It  is  evident  that  the  charge  could  not  be  finished  in  a 
basic  converter,  owing  to  the  low  content  of  phosphorus,  but  after 
the  oxidation  of  the  silicon  and  most  of  the  carbon  the  time  in  the 
open-hearth  furnace  is  reduced  to  about  three  hours.  Under  this 
practice  only  a  small  proportion  of  ore  is  needed  in  the  open-hearth 
furnace,  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  at  Witkowitz,  as  good 
lump  ore  must  be  brought  from  Sweden.  It  may  also  be  consid- 
ered that  the  blast  furnace  is  not  confined  to  narrow  limits  of  sili- 
con, as  in  basic  practice.  The  slags  from  the  acid  converter  and  the 
basic  hearth  run  as  follows: 


Slags  from  Duplex  Process  at  Witkowitz. 


Converter. 

Open  Hearth. 

Fe 

675 

18.03 

Mn 

2627 

7.33 

SiOo  .  . 

50.24 

15.10 

AloO3. 

606 

2.89 

CaD 

1  49 

37  10 

MgO... 

0.23 

7.50 

PaO6 

0.04 

4.05 

The  works  produces  large  quantities  of  all  forms  of  rolled  steel 
and  has  a  large  steel-casting  plant.  In  the  coal  region  of  Silesia 
are  the  works  at  Trynietz,  with  two  acid  converters  and  seven  basic 
open-hearth  furnaces,  and  mills  for  rails,  structural  shapes  and 
merchant  iron.  Table  XXVII-E  gives  the  principal  works  in  Mo- 
ravia and  Silesia, 


582 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXVII-E. 
List  of  Steel  Works  in  Moravia  (Mahren)  and  Silesia  (Schlesien), 


Name  of  Plant. 

Location. 

No.  of  Bessemer 
Converters. 

No.  of  Open 
Hearth  Furnaces. 

Annual 
Output  ; 
tons. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Witkowitz  Bergbau,  etc..  •[ 

Witkowitz  . 
Witkowitz  . 
Teschen  .  .  . 

2* 

8* 
4 
7 

150,000 
25.000 
60,000 

2 

SEC.  XXVIId.— Styria  (see  No.  3  on  Map)  : 

A  journey  to  a  steel  plant  is  not  usually  looked  upon  as  a  pleas- 
ure from  an  aesthetic  point  of  view,  but  there  is  one  exception  in  a 
visit  to  the  beautiful  valley  where  the  ancient  town  of  Leoben  and 
the  steel  works  of  Donawitz  lie  peacefully  hidden  in  the  shadow 
of  the  Alps.  At  the  end  of  the  valley,  only  a  few  miles  away,  is  a 
mountain  towering  in  a  huge  cone  nearly  5000  feet  above  the  sea 
and  3000  feet  above  the  hamlet  below.  This  is  the  Erzberg  or  Ore 
Mountain.  The  whole  surface  is  a  layer  of  spathic  ore  from  200 
to  500  feet  thick  and  it  is  mined  by  a  succession  of  terraces  all  the 
way  up  the  mountain  side. 

This  deposit  has  been  known  from  most  ancient  times,  the  pres- 
ent province  of  Styria  being  a  part  of  the  Eoman  province  of 
Noricum,  from  whence  came  a  large  portion  of  the  weapons  of  the 
Eoman  legions  and  other  iron  instruments  of  the  Empire.  In  fact, 
Styria  and  Carinthia  both  claim  the  "rather  doubtful  honor"  of 
supplying  the  nails  for  the  cross  upon  Calvary.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  mines  were  worked  tens  of  thousands  of  years  before  that,  for 
the  remains  of  primeval  man  have  been  found  beside  the  unburned 
charcoal  of  prehistoric  forges. 

A  modern  plant  of  blast  furnaces  has  been  built  at  Eisenerz, 
near  the  Erzberg,  and  during  1902  the  output  per  furnace  was  up- 
wards of  450  tons  per  day  of  white  pig,  with  a  consumption  of 
1900  pounds  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron.  The  ore  is  a  carbonate  of  about 
the  following  composition : 

The  ore  is  roasted  in  kilns,  giving  50  per  cent,  in  iron.  It  is 
smelted  with  coke  from  Westphalia  and  Austrian  Silesia,  the  first 

*  These  converters  and  furnaces  are  worked  by  the  "  combined  "  or  "  duplex  "  process. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.  583 

I.  II. 

Crude.  Roasted.                                             Crude.       Roasted. 

FeO    34.97  Fe    38.93  51.80 

Fe2O3 16.75  74.04         Mn 2.15  2.84 

MiiaO* 2.98  4.01 

SiO2    8.20  11.04 

A12O3 2.09  2.81 

CaO    3.06  4.12 

MgO 2.92  3.93 

CO2    27.60  

P2O5 0.04  0.05 

SO,    tr. 


98.61  100.00 

being  500  miles  away  in  a  straight  line.  The  transportation  is  ex- 
pensive from  both  fields,  owing  to  the  heavy  grades  on  the  pic- 
turesque route  through  the  Steiermark  Alps. 

Many  blast  furnaces  of  Austria  are  built  upon  a  plan  which  is 
different  from  the  usual  American  construction.  The  whole  struc- 
ture rests  not  upon  solid  ground,  but  on  a  pier  formed  of  arches,  so 
that  one  may  walk  underneath  the  bottom.  At  Donawitz  the  tap- 
hole  is  fifteen  feet  above  the  general  level.  The  mere  elevation  is 
nothing  unusual,  as  many  American  furnaces  are  built  high  in  the 
air  to  allow  the  iron  and  slag  to  be  carried  away  in  cars,  but  in 
Austria  it  is  claimed  that  the  bottom  of  the  furnace  must  be  kept 
cool,  in  order  to  prevent  the  cutting  away  of  the  lining  and  the 
breaking  out  of  the  iron.  This  difference  in  construction  is  due 
very  much  to  a  difference  in  the  work  to  be  done.  When  running  on 
ordinary  Bessemer  iron  for  the  acid  converter,  the  temperature  is 
high,  and  graphite  is  deposited  as  a  protective  covering  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  hearth;  but  when  low-silicon  iron  is  desired,  the  con- 
ditions are  quite  the  reverse.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  American 
furnaceman  will  agree  to  make  iron  regularly  with  as  low  a  con- 
tent of  silicon  as  the  standard  product  at  Donawitz.  I  have  been 
given  the  following  as  typical : 

C 4.00 

SI 0.10  to  0.30 

S tr  to  0.03 

P   0.08  to  0.10 

Mn 2.0  to  2.5 

This  iron  is  taken  to  a  basic  open-hearth  furnace  in  a  molten 
state,  and  the  value  of  the  low  silicon  need  not  be  dwelt  upon. 
The  linings  are  of  magnesite,  for  in  Styria  this  mineral  is  as  cheap 


584 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


as  almost  any  other  refractory  material.  Taken  all  in  all,  it  may 
be  considered  a  fortunate  thing  for  the  rest  of  the  world  that  good 
coking  coal  does  not  exist  in  the  Steiermark. 

There^is  a  deposit  of  brown  coal  near  by,  and  Styria  in  1899 
raised  2,6^000  tons,  or  about  ten  per  cent,  of  the  total  output  of 
Austria.  It  is^the  only  province  besides  Bohemia  that  does  pro- 
duce a  large  quantfty,  but  there  is  no  bituminous  coal  found  in 
the  Empire,  except  in  the  northern  provinces.  The  predominant 
steel  producer  in  the  district  is  the  Alpine  Montan  Gesellschaft, 
and  mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  furnace  plants  smelting 
the  ore  of  the  Erzberg.  The  one  great  steel  works  is  at  Donawitz, 
near  Leoben,  which  has  lately  been  entirely  rebuilt.  There  are  also 
/  modern  plate  and  universal  mills  at  Zeltweg.  Table  XXVII-F 
gives  a  list  of  the  principal  works  in  Styria. 

TABLE  XXVII-F. 
List  of  Steel  Works  in  Styria  (Steiermark). 

This  district  Is  marked  on  the  map  as  No.  3. 


Name  of  Plant. 

Location. 

No.  of  Bessemer 
Converters. 

No.  of  Open 
Hearth  Furnaces. 

Annual 
Output  ; 
tons. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Oesterreichische  

Donawitz  .  . 

13 
2 
2 

160,000 
20,000 
25,000 

Neuberg 

3 

Zeltweg  

SEC.  XX Vile. — Hungary: 

The  iron  industry  of  Hungary  is  scattered,  but  half  of  all  the  pig- 
iron  is  made  in  the  northern  portion  in  the  counties  of  Szepes, 
Gomor,  Borsod  and  their  immediate  neighborhood.  Considerable  ore 
is  found  in  this  district,  the  deposit  being  a  spathic  carbonate  which 
must  be  calcined.  In  1899  there  were  1,337,000  tons  of  ore  raised 
in  this  field,  about  30  per  cent,  of  this  being  exported.  The  works 
at  Witkowitz  in  Moravia  owns  mines  here,  and  in  1899  took  200,- 
000  tons  of  ore  from  Borsod  county,  which  was  nearly  all  it  pro- 
duced, while  a  considerable  quantity  is  sent  from  other  mines  to 
Bohemia  and  German  Silesia,  the  works  at  Friedenshiitte  owning 
mines  near  Kotterbach.  Out  of  67  blast  furnaces  in  Hungary  there 
are  37  in  this  Szepes  Iglo  district.  Most  of  them  are  small,  some 


AUSTEIA-HUNGAKY. 


585 


use  charcoal,  but  many  bring  coke  from  Silesia,  as  good  coking  coal 
is  not  found  in  any  part  of  Hungary. 

There  is  a  considerable  steel  plant  of  the  Rimamurian  Salgo 
Tarjan  Ironworks  Company  at  Salgo-Tarjan,  this  company  owning 
mines  in  Gomor  county  and  having  blast  furnaces  and  rolling  mills. 
About  75,000  tons  of  steel  are  made  per  year  from  three  7-ton  basic 
converters.  There  are  also  smaller  works  at  Ozd?  while  the  Austrian- 
Hungarian  State  Eailway  operates  two  basic  converters  and  several 
open-hearth  furnaces,  making  together  about  50,000  tons  per  year. 
Another  small  Bessemer  plant  is  at  Sohl.  In  the  South  is  the 
old-established  plant  at  Reschitza,  where  there  are  three  basic  con- 
verters and  three  20-ton  open-hearth  furnaces  with  a  capacity  of 
40,000  tons  per  year.  The  iron  for  this  is  made  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood. 

These  two  districts  in  the  North  and  in  the  South  make  three- 
quarters  of  all  the  pig-iron  smelted  in  Hungary  and  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  the  steel.  The  only  other  district  worth  mentioning  is 
in  the  southeast  in  Transylvania,  where  a  larger  amount  of  pig- 
iron  is  made  than  in  Eeschitza.  The  great  drawback  throughout 
Hungary  is  the  absence  of  coking  coal,  and  only  10,000  tons  are 
produced  per  year,  this  being  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Buda  Pest. 
The  Hungarian  works,  therefore,  are  on  a  moderate  scale,  and  be- 
ing protected  by  the  Government  in  every  way  content  themselves 
with  supplying  the  wants  of  the  State  railways  and  of  the  general 


TABLE  XXYII-G. 
Production  of  Coal,  Ore  and  Pig-iron  in  Hungary  in  1899. 


o? 

"d 

-•I 

Zalatna 
(Transylvania)  . 

Orvicza 
(Southern  Part) 

Budapest. 

• 

z 

Designation  in  Fipr.  XXVII-A. 

4 
32 

5 
g 

6 

7 

6 

54 

Idle  blastfurnaces  

5 

2 

2 

4 

13 

Pig  Iron  ... 

259  698 

107  575 

76  060 

8314 

451  647 

Iron  Ore  

1  337  '451  ' 

270  ^ 

135  793 

186  230 

22823 

1  567'860 

Bituminous  Coal    

7  648 

470  018 

761  189 

1  238  855 

Coke                               .  . 

10036 

10*036 

785010 

53  819 

1  883  114 

1  ^70  641 

4  292  584 

586 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


home  market.    Table  XXVII-G  gives  the  output  of  fuel  and  iron 
in  1899,  while  Table  XXVII-H  gives  the  steel  production. 

TABLE  XXVII-H. 
Production  of  Steel  in  Hungary. 


Year. 

Bessemer  Steel. 

Open  Hearth  Steel. 

Total 
Steel. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Total. 

Acid. 

Basic. 

Total. 

1880 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 

12,854 
61,269 
51,106 
47,163 
72,687 
60,152 
72,976 
57,475 
54,030 
68,493 
69,968 
80579 
73,172 
66,567 
66,081 
41,894 
49,842 

12,854 
61,269 
51,106 
47,163 
72,687 
75,066 
107,817 
98,737 
99,478 
119,806 
127,464 
146,097 
139,714 
132,345 
137,391 
104.030 
112,178 

8,021 
11,384 
3,201 
4,199 
3,100 
3,800 
4,700 
525 

8,021 
11,384 
5,941 
18,090 
27,fB2 
32,458 
48,907 
53,234 
59,380 
69,421 
79,483 
100,809 
154,976 
170,965 
194,160 
228,605 
240,586 

20,875 
72.653 
57,047 
65,253 
100,619 
107.524 
156,724 
151,971 
158,858 
189,227 
206,947 
246,906 
294,690 
303,310 
331,551 
332,635 
352,764 

2,740 
13,891 
24,832 
28,658 
44,207 
52,709 
59,380 
69,421 
79,488 
100,809 
153,563 
176,436 
189,862 
226,195 
229,199 

14,914 
34,841 
41,262 
45,448 
51,313 
57,496 
65,518 
66,542 
65,778 
71,310 
62,136 
62,336 

1,413 
3,529 
4,298 
2,410 
11,387 

CHAPTER   XXVIH. 

BELGIUM. 

This  article  has  been  submitted  to  M.  H.  de  Nimot,  secretary  of  the  Association  des 
Maitres  des  Forges,  at  Charleroi,  Belgium.  M.  de  Nimot  objects  to  my  statement  that 
the  working  people  of  Belgium  are  "  bound  to  the  vocations  of  their  fathers."  I  deem 
it  justice  to  him  to  offer  his  protest,  but  I  believe  that  the  argument  herein  given  por- 
trays a  real  difference  between  the  workmen  of  Belgium  and  America. 

Belgium  is  essentially  a  fuel-producing  country.  In  1900  she 
raised  23,462,817  tons  of  coal,  which  is  about  one-tenth  of  the 
production  of  the  United  States  or  of  Great  Britain.  The  pro- 
duction of  coke  was  2,434,678  tons.  Table  XXVIII-A  shows  that 
three-fourths  of  all  the  coal  and  coke  comes  from  the  province  of 
Hainaut  on  the  border  of  France,  and  the  remainder  from  Liege. 
The  Belgian  coal  mines  have  reached  a  great  depth,  which  in- 
creases the  cost  of  operation,  and  there  is  much  trouble  from  gas 
in  the  beds,  causing  fearful  explosions  which  no  care  can  prevent. 
The  average  working  depth  in  Hainaut  is  1600  feet,  while  some 
mines  run  from  3400  to  3800  feet.  It  is  estimated  that  the  coal 
will  last  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  years,  this  period  be- 
ing the  same  as  that  assigned  to  the  deposits  of  Central  France,  the 
North  of  England  and  Central  Bohemia. 

The  average  cost  of  coal  at  the  mines  for  the  whole  country  for 
1899  was  officially  given  at  10.72  francs=$2.07  per  ton,  and  the 
average  selling  price  $2.40.  In  1900  the  cost  was  $2.78  and  the 
selling  price  $3.48.  The  average  price  of  coke  was  $3.96  at  the 
ovens  in  1899,  but  in  1900  the  price  averaged  $4.18,  although  blast 
furnace  coke  was  sold  at  an  average  of  $3.40  per  metric  ton.  One- 
iifth  of  all  the  coal  raised,  and  over  one-third  of  all  the  coke  made, 
is  exported,  most  of  these  shipments  going  to  France.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  imports  of  coal  amount  to  one-seventh  as  much  as  is 
raised,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  coke  is  brought  in,  these 
imports  coming  from  Westphalia  across  the  eastern  border,  while 
the  exports  go  southward.  The  Westphalian  coke  is  superior  to  the 

587 


588 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Belgian  product,  but  it  is  economical  for  the  French  works  to  buy 
the  poorer  article,  on  account  of  the  short  haul. 

TABLE  XXVIII-A. 
Production  of  Coal,  Coke,  Iron  and  Steel  in  Belgium  in  1900. 


Hainaut. 

Luge. 

Namur. 

Luxem- 
burg. 

Total. 

Goal  raised          

16,532,630 

6,190,892 

739,295 

23,462,817 
1,573,697 
1,173.917 
497,088 
3,917,765 

2,434,678 
220,753 
40,559 
25,688 
1,073,313 
646,369 
247,890 
1,664,579 
321,478 
291,783 
98,539 
252,236 
1,018,561 
155,873 
73,603 
53,674 
12,259 
655,199 
134,428 
333,981 
858,163 
415,802 
39 

Imported  from  Germany 

"           "     England 

Coke  made  

1,748,460 

*  < 
686 

228 

««           «<     England    . 

Exported  to  France        «« 

247,890 

Imported  from  Luxemburg. 

"           "     Prance  

"           "     Sweden  ... 

"           "     Others  

imported  from  England  .  .  . 

"           "     Un  Statei  . 

226,945 

429,254 

Rails  

Finished  iron  

Exports  of  finished  iron  &  steel 
Total  number  of  blast  furnaces 
Active  in  1901  

16 

8 

17 

12 

6 
5 

Number  of  Bessemer  converters 
Number  of  open  hearth  fur 

47 
18 

Av.  wage  in  steel  works  per  day 

77  cents 

78  cents 

Belgium  formerly  raised  a  considerable  quantity  of  iron  ore,  but 
her  maximum  production  was  reached  in  1865  with  a  total  of  1,019,- 
000  tons,  the  output  since  then  having  decreased  until  now  it  is 
only  one-fifth  of  that  amount.  Some  ore  is  raised  in  the  province 
of  Luxemburg,  which  touches  the  great  Minette  deposit  that  spreads 
out  over  the  adjoining  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemburg,  now  in  com- 
mercial alliance  with  the  German  Empire.  It  is  from  the  Grand 
Duchy  and  from  Rhenish  Prussia  that  Belgium  draws  most  of  her 
ore,  although  a  considerable  amount  is  brought  from  Spain  to 
Liege,  very  little  foreign  ore  going  elsewhere  in  the  country  ex- 
cept some  containing  manganese.  The  pig-iron  from  these  Span- 
ish ores  makes  one-sixth  of  all  the  iron  produced  in  Belgium,  and 
is  used  for  acid  Bessemer  steel.  The  ores  from  the  Minette  dis- 
trict give  an  iron  running  from  1.3  to  2  per  cent,  in  phosphorus 


BELGIUM. 


589 


and  large  quantities  are  used  for  puddling  and  foundry  purposes. 
In  making  iron  for  the  basic  Bessemer  it  is  a  common  practice  to 
use  a  certain  proportion  of  manganiferous  ores  and  slags,  so  that 
the  iron  will  contain  from  1.5  to  2  per  cent,  of  manganese. 

The  pig-iron  used  in  Belgium  is  of  domestic  manufacture,  about 
one-sixth  of  the  total  output  being  made  in  the  province  of  Luxem- 
burg, the  remainder  being  equally  divided  between  Liege  and  Hai- 
naut.  The  total  production  of  the  country  at  its  maximum  is  one 
million  tons  per  year  or  about  what  would  be  made  by  ten  furnaces 
making  three  hundred  tons  per  day.  Three-quarters  of  all  the  pig- 
iron  is  smelted  at  eight  plants,  a  list  of  which  is  given  in  Table 
XXVIII-B. 

TABLE  XXVIII-B. 

Important  Blast  Furnace  Plants  in  Belgium. 


Number 

Capacity 

Province. 

Name  of  Works. 

Location. 

of 
Blast 

per 
Furnace 

Furnaces. 

per  Day. 

la  Providence.  

Marchienne        .  . 

3 

Hainaut 

rje  Coullet 

Near  Charleroi 

4 

90 

Near  Charleroi 

2 

on 

Soc.  John  Cockerill  

Seraine  

6 

Lifcge  

L'Eaperance  Loiigdoz  

Seraing  

2 

Angleur  

Ougree  

4 
4 

Luxemburg 

d'Athus  

Athus  

2 

76  ' 

The  steel  is  made  in  the  two  provinces  of  Liege  and  Hainaut.  The 
production  in  1899  was  718,000  tons  or  60,000  tons  per  month, 
but  in  1900  this  fell  to  655,000,  while  in  1901  it  was  500,000  tons, 
owing  to  the  depression  in  business  throughout  Europe.  Out  of 
47  converters  only  25  are  in  operation  and  only  12  open-hearth  fur- 
naces are  working  in  the  whole  country.  Over  60  per  cent,  of  the 
steel  was  made  at  Liege,  and  the  works  of  John  Cockerill  made 
most  of  the  rails  that  were  rolled,  amounting  in  1900  to  134,000 
tons,  or  11,000  tons  per  month. 

The  advantages  possessed  by  Belgium  are  the  short  distances 
through  which  material  must  be  carried.  A  circle  of  a  hundred 
miles  radius  takes  in  the  coal  and  ore  mines  and  a  seaport,  while 
the  average  haul  is  much  less.  The  wages  of  labor  axe  low,  and 
although  it  is  a  common  saying  that  a  man  works  just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  way  he  is  paid,  this  saying  is  not  always  exact.  A  man 


590 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


working  for  60  cents  a  day  in  Liege  does  not  do  as  much  work  as  an 
American  laborer  receiving  twice  as  much,  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  he  is  only  half  as  efficient.  A  woman  loading  coke  and  ore 
buggies  for  30  cents  a  day  may  not  do  the  work  done  by  a  buggy- 
puller  in  Pittsburgh  receiving  six  times  as  much  pay,  but  it  does 


HOLLAND  Aim  BELGIUM 


STATISTICS  OF  PRODUCTION: 

1  Unit=JOOO  Tons  per  Year. 
Distances  are  in  Straight  Lines. 


GUELDERLAND     X 


PIG.  XXVIII-A. 


BELGIUM.  591 

not  follow  that  she  only  does  one-sixth  as  much.  There  is  a  large 
profit  for  the  manufacturer^  particularly  in  the  great  number  of 
cases  where  some  human  intelligence  and  some  human  hand  must 
be  at  a  certain  post,  and  where  the  grade  of  the  intelligence  and  the 
strength  of  the  hand  are  of  little  moment.  There  are  multitudes 
of  positions  in  a  steel  works  where  this  condition  obtains,  and  in 
Belgium  women  fill  such  positions,  receiving  a  mere  pittance.  They 
do  a  very  large  share  of  the  work  that  we  call  "general  labor." 
About  ten  years  ago  Belgium  passed  laws  regulating  the  emplo}^ 
ment  of  women  and  children  in  mines,  and  there  has  been  a  marked 
advance  in  this  direction.  In  1870  there  were  from  8000  to  9000 
women  and  girls  working  underground  in  the  coal  mines.  In  1889 
there  were  3700.  In  1891  the  women  and  girls  constituted  four 
per  cent,  of  all  the  working  force  under  ground,  while  in  1899  they 
formed  only  a  fraction  of  one  per  cent.  Of  the  over-ground  work- 
ers the  women  and  girls  constituted  25.1  per  cent,  in  1891,  24.3  per 
cent,  in  1899,  and  23.1  per  cent,  in  1900.  Of  the  over-ground 
workers  at  these  mines  in  1900,  in  a  total  of  34,075  people,  there 
were  3787  girls  between  the  ages  of  16  and  20,  or  11.1  per  cent, 
of  the  whole.  In  addition  to  these  there  were  2589  girls  between 
14  and  16,  a  proportion  of  7.6  per  cent.,  so  that  18.6  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  force  was  made  up  of  girls  between  14  and  20  years 
of  age. 

Considering  the  works  above  and  below  ground  together  for  the 
year  1899,  concerning  which  I  have  the  full  official  statistics,  there 
was  a  total  of  125,258  people,  of  whom  there  were  6522  girls  from 
14  to  20  years  of  age,  or  5.2  per  cent.  A  little  calculation  from  the 
mortality  tables  will  show  that  this  represents  over  half  of  all  the 
girls  of  that  age  that  would  be  found  in  a  community  containing 
that  number  of  people,  and  after  allowing  for  the  infirm  it  will  be 
seen  that  in  the  coal-mining  communities  of  Belgium  almost  all 
the  girls  between  the  ages  of  14  and  21  work  around  the  coal 
mines  or  coke  ovens.* 

It  is  difficult  for  an  American  to  appreciate  what  this  means 
until  he  sees  the  conditions  on  the  spot  and  until  he  has  known 
what  it  is  to  work  day  and  night  shift  out  doors  in  all  weather 
and  in  all  seasons.  It  seems  inevitable  that  the  same  law  of 

*  I  have  calculated  these  figures  from  the  official  report  of  the  Directeur  General  des 
Mines  for  1899. 


592  THE  IRON  INDUSTEY. 

progress  which  has  led  Germany  to  abolish  woman  labor  in  steel 
works,  which  emancipated  woman  in  England  a  generation  ago, 
and  which  never  allowed  her  to  consider  drudgery  in  America,  will 
extend  its  power  over  Belgium  and  Austria.  When  this  happens 
the  wages  of  men  must  be  increased,  as  there  will  be  but  one  wage- 
earner  in  the  household. 

The  spread  of  general  intelligence  will  also  have  its  effect  upon 
the  remote  districts.  At  present  the  working-classes  in  many  places 
seem  bound  to  their  home  and  to  the  vocation  that  their  fathers 
knew  before  them.  This  is  a  sort  of  mediaeval  and  provincial  idea 
not  entirely  absent  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  it  may  even  be 
detected  in  America,  but  in  England  and  in  the  United  States  it 
cannot  be  reckoned  with  in  the  labor  situation.  These  ideas  must 
disappear  and  with  them  will  disappear  the  cheap  labor  of  Belgium, 
although  all  history  shows  that  an  increase  in  the  wages  of  the  day 
laborer  need  not  necessarily  raise  the  cost  of  manufactures. 

In  addition  to  her  production  of  steel,  Belgium  turns  out  a  large 
quantity  of  puddled  iron.  In  the  year  1900  her  production  of  steel 
was  655,000  tons  and  of  wrought-iron  358,000  tons,  a  great  deal 
of  the  latter  being  exported  in  the  form  of  structural  shapes.  Bel- 
gium covers  an  area  of  only  11,370  square  miles  and  had  a  popula- 
tion in  1899  of  6,744,532,  so  that  her  output  of  steel  and  wrought- 
iron  is  greater  per  inhabitant  than  any  other  nation.  As  a  result 
she  must  seek  an  outlet,  and  her  exports  of  iron  and  steel  wares 
amount  to  nearly  one-half  her  production.  The  actual  tonnage 
shipped,  however,  is  comparatively  small,  being  only  one-quarter  of 
the  exports  of  Great  Britain. 

The  area  of  Belgium  is  only  one-fourth  that  of  Pennsylvania, 
but  if  we  take  the  southwestern  part  of  the  latter  State,  compris- 
ing the  coke  and  iron  districts  in  the  counties  of  Allegheny,  West- 
moreland and  Fayette,  and  as  far  east  as  Indiana,  Cambria  and 
Blair,  we  find  that  this  section  of  the  State,  though  having  the 
same  number  of  square  miles  as  Belgium,  contains  less  than  one- 
fourth  of  her  population.  Or  if  we  take  the  most  thickly  settled 
three  States  in  the  Union — the  New  England  States,  Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut — these  three  have  an  area 
thirty  per  cent,  greater  than  Belgium  and  yet  have  only  half  the 
population.  These  figures  give  some  idea  of  the  density  of  popula- 
tion in  this  ancient  State. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 


SWEDEN. 


I  am  indebted  to  my  friend,  Hjalmar  Branne,  metallurgical  engineer  of  the  Mining 
School  at  Filipstad,  who  has  carefully  read, corrected  and  twice  reread  the  manuscript 
I  have  also  consulted  the  Swedish  official  publication,  Kommerscollegii  berattelse,  for 
WOO  for  the  data  in  Table  XXIX-A  and  Fig.  XXIX-A.  Much  information  has  been  taken 
from  V Industrie  Miniere  de  la  Suede,  1897,  by  Nordenstrom,  and  the  paper  by  Akerman 
injthe  Journal  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  for  1898. 

Compared  with  the  greater  nations,  the  steel  turned  out  by 
Sweden  is  of  little  importance  when  measured  by  tons,  but  she  can- 
not be  omitted  from  special  consideration,  on  account  of  her  in- 
creasing importance,  as  a  source  of  iron  ore,  on  account  of  the  an- 
cient prestige  of  her  products,  and  the  care  and  skill  with  which 
that  prestige  is  maintained. 

TABLE  XXIX-A. 
Production  of  Iron  and  Steel  in  Sweden  in  1900  and  1901 ;  tons. 


South 
1900. 

Southeast 
1900. 

Centre 
1900. 

North 

1900. 

Total 
1900. 

Total 
1903. 

Coal 

250000 

250,000 

320,000 

Ore  

1,000 

1,563,000 

1,644066 

2,608,000 

3,678,000 

Pig           

24  000 

503,000 

527,000 

489,700 

\Vrought  Iron 

23000 

165000 

188,000* 

191,300 

Bessemer  Steel  .... 

91,000 

91,000 

84,800 

Open  hearth  Steel 

19000 

1SS  000 

207,000 

225,200 

Total  Steel 

19000 

279000 

298,000 

310,000 

*  The  classification  of  wrought-iron  products  is  imperfect  and  the  figures  inac- 
curate. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  Sweden  in  the  iron  industry  is  her 
lack  of  coal  and  her  supply  of  forests.  It  is  a  safe  assertion  that 
had  coal  existed  in  Sweden  to  any  extent  the  manufacture  of  iron 
would  be  far  greater,  but  her  steel  would  never  have  achieved  its 
present  reputation.  There  are  two  or  three  ore  beds  of  exceptional 
purity,  as  far  as  phosphorus  is  concerned,  and  the  fame  of  Swedish 

593 


594 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


iron  rests  on  these  deposits  at  Dannemora,  Norberg  and  Persberg. 
Charcoal  contains  no  sulphur,  and  if  the  ore,,  after  roasting,  con- 


A    T 


*r   PRUSSIA 


FIG.  XXIX-A. 

tains  none  the  pig-iron  can  contain  none,  even  though  the  blast 
furnace  be  working  cold.     This  is  a  proposition  rather  startling, 


SWEDEN.  595 

but  decidedly  attractive  to  the  average  furnaceman,  and  it  is  the 
foundation  of  the  reputation  of  Sweden. 

Up  to  the  year  1895  Sweden  produced  more  wrought-iron  than 
steel,  but  since  then  the  output  of  iron  has  remained  stationary, 
while  the  output  of  steel  has  increased.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  this 
iron  is  made  on  the  Swedish  Lancashire  hearth,  an  improved  form 
of  the  ancient  device,  wherein  a  mass  of  pig-iron  is  caused  to  melt 
on  the  top  of  a  charcoal  fire  and  the  melted  mass  again  brought  to 
the  top  and  remelted,  all  the  time  being  exposed  to  the  blast,  by 
which  the  silicon,  manganese  and  carbon  are  eliminated  under  the 
influence  of  a  slag  of  about  the  following  composition:  Si02=10 
per  cent. ;  FeO=78  per  cent. ;  Fe203=12  per  cent.  This  gives  the 
softest  product  that  can  be  made  by  any  steel  or  iron-making 
process,  and  when  a  charcoal  pig-iron,  low  in  phosphorus,  sulphur, 
manganese  and  silicon,  is  used  with  charcoal,  the  latter  being  free 
from  phosphorus  and  sulphur,  the  product  must  necessarily  be  pure. 

In  order  to  get  the  proper  kind  of  pig-iron,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  an  ore  free  from  phosphorus.  The  usual  Swedish  ore  is  a 
hard  magnetite;  the  blast  furnaces  are  small,  ranging  from  40  to 
60  feet  in  height  and  7  to  10  feet  bosh,  with  a  diameter  at  the 
tuyeres  of  from  3.5  to  6.5  feet.  When  making  pig  for  the  Lan- 
cashire hearth  the  blast  is  kept  between  200°  C.  and  300°  C. 
(390°  F.  and  570°  F.),  in  order  to  keep  the  furnace  cool;  a  diam- 
eter of  over  five  feet  at  the  tuyeres  is  not  good  practice,  for  a  larger 
diameter,  even  with  cold  blast,  will  produce  so  high  a  temperature 
that  manganese  and  silicon  will  be  reduced.  A  drawing  of  a 
Swedish  blast  furnace  for  making  pig-iron  for  the  Lancashire 
hearth  is  shown  in  Fig.  XXIX-B.  The  pig-iron  used  in  the  Lan- 
cashire hearth  runs  about  as  follows,  in  per  cent. : 

Si 0.10  to  0.50,  usually  0.25  to  0.80 

Mn 0.10  to  0.30 

P 0.01  to  0.05 

S 0.00  to  0.02 

The  composition  of  a  very  soft  Lancashire  wrought-iron,  used 
for  electrical  purposes,  is  as  follows,  in  per  cent. : 

<3 0.05 — O.OB 

Si 0.023 

Mn    0.03 

p 0.025 

8   0.005 


596 


THE  IRON"  INDUSTRY. 


PIG.  XXIX-B. — SWEDISH  BLAST  FURNACE. 


SWEDEN.  597 

In  making  Bessemer  iron  a  higher  temperature  is  allowable  and 
the  diameter  may  be  6.5  feet,  at  the  tuyeres,  and  the  blast  may  be 
from  400°  C.  to  500°  C.  (750°  F.  to  930°  F.),  but  even  under  this 
practice,  and  still  more  surely  in  the  making  of  pig  for  the  Lan- 
cashire process,  the  temperature  of  the  zone  of  fusion  in  the  blast 
furnace  is  so  low  that  sulphur  cannot  be  eliminated  in  the  slag,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  roast  the  ores,  even  though  they  con- 
tain but  a  small  quantity  of  pyrite.  This  roasting  changes  the  con- 
dition of  the  iron  from  Fe304  to  Fe203?  and  thereby  reduces  the 
consumption  of  fuel  in  the  blast  furnace.  In  making  Bessemer 
iron  the  aim  is  to  get  1.00  per  cent,  silicon  and  from  1.50  to  3.00 
per  cent,  manganese.  The  charcoal  contains  85  per  cent,  of  car- 
bon, 3  per  cent,  of  ash,  and  12  per  cent  of  moisture,  and  600  to  1000 
kg.  of  carbon  are  burned  per  1000  kg.  of  pig-iron. 

In  1897  there  were  144  active  furnaces,  and  allowing  for  the 
actual  time  in  blast  there  was  an  average  production  of  13.1  tons 
per  day.  There  were  130  works  making  wrought-iron  and  steel,  and 
they  averaged  12  tons  per  working  day,  which  may  give  some  idea 
of  the  scale  of  operations  in  Sweden.  The  average  is  no  measure 
of  the  best,  but  in  1897  the  largest  blast  furnaces  were  reckoned  at 
40  tons  per  day.  In  1901  there  were  139  blast  furnaces  giving  an 
average  daily  product  of  13.96  tons  for  the  time  they  were  in  oper- 
ation. In  1893  the  production  of  Bessemer  steel  was  84,400  tons, 
being  a  trifle  more  than  the  open-hearth,  which  was  81,890  tons. 
The  Bessemer  output  increased  to  114,120  tons  in  1896,  but  it  is 
decreasing  and  in  1901  was  only  77,231  tons,  while  the  open-hearth 
product  meanwhile  steadily  increased,  until  in  1900  it  was  207,450 
tons,  there  being  a  falling  off  in  1901  to  190,877  tons.  During  the 
year  1900  one-third  of  the  Bessemer  and  one-fifth  of  the  open-hearth 
steel  was  made  by  the  basic  process,  the  basic  Bessemer  being  used 
in  only  one  works.  The  production  of  crucible  steel  amounts  to  a 
little  over  1000  tons  per  year. 

Sweden  exports  large  quantities  of  iron  and  steel,  the  proportion 
varying  according  to  business  conditions,  but  there  has  been  a  ten- 
dency for  the  proportion  to  be  less  as  the  growth  of  basic  processes 
has  enabled  other  nations  to  make  the  purer  grades  of  metal.  In 
1840  she  exported  86  per  cent,  of  her  wrought-iron  and  steel;  in 
1870,  62  per  cent.,  and  in  1897,  45  per  cent.  In  1890  the  exports 
amounted  to  225,000  tons  and  in  1897  to  210,000  tons.  In  1900 


598  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

she  exported  356,080  tons  of  wrought-iron  and  steel,  or  73  per 
cent,  of  her  output,  showing  the  effect  of  the  general  revival  in  the 
iron  industry. 

Having  regard  to  the  coal  and  iron  industry  alone,  we  may  divide 
the  country  into  seven  parts.  In  the  extreme  south  is  the  district 
of  Malmohus,  which  produces  about  250,000  tons  of  bituminous 
coal  per  year,  but  this  has  no  bearing  on  the  iron  trade.  On  the 
southwest  is  the  district  of  Elfsborgs,  where  two  open-hearth  fur- 
naces make  3000  tons  of  steel  per  year.  In  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Stockholm,  in  the  districts  of  Stockholm,  Upsala  and  Soderman- 
land,  a  small  quantity  of  ore  is  mined,  and  there  are  eighteen 
works  producing  7  per  cent,  of  the  iron  and  steel  output  of  the 
country.  In  the  southern  central  portion,  comprising  the  districts 
of  Ostergotland,  Jb'nkoping,  Kronoberg,  Kalmar  and  Bleikinge,  are 
21  works  making  8  per  cent.  A  little  north  of  Stockholm  is  the 
district  of  Gefleborg  making  15  per  cent. 

The  western  central  portion,  including  the  district  of  Vermland, 
Orebro,  Vestmanland  and  Kopparberg,  is  the  great  center  of  manu- 
facture. This  district  in  1900,  notwithstanding  the  great  develop- 
ment in  the  extreme  north  in  the  Gellivare  mines,  raised  55  per 
cent,  of  all  the  ore  produced  in  Sweden,  nearly  one-half  of  this 
coming  from  the  mines  at  Grangesberg.  This  last-named  ore  runs- 
55  per  cent,  in  metallic  iron  and  .08  per  cent,  in  phosphorus,  and 
most  of  it  is  exported.  It  is  in  this  region  that  the  old  mines  of 
Dannemora,  Norberg  and  Persberg  are  located,  some  of  which  have 
been  worked  for  six  and  seven  hundred  years,  and  which  have  made 
Sweden  famous  for  the  quality  of  her  products. 

There  are  56  iron  works  in  this  western  central  section,  and  in 
the  year  1900  they  made  74  per  cent,  of  all  the  pig-iron  and  nearly 
70  per  cent,  of  all  the  iron  and  steel.  There  were  179  Lancashire 
hearths,  17  converters  making  a  total  of  58,392  tons  in  the  year, 
and  34  open-hearth  furnaces,  making  156,110  tons  of  steel.  The 
Bessemer  converters  averaged  3400  tons  per  year  or  less  than  300 
tons  per  month.  The  capacity  of  Swedish  converters  is  from  three 
to  six  tons.  The  iron  is  taken  to  them  directly  from  the  blast  fur- 
nace and  only  three  to  five  heats  are  blown  per  day. 

To  the  outside  world,  one  of  the  most  important  features  of 
Sweden  today  is  the  exploitation  of  the  great  iron  mines  recently 
opened  beneath  the  Arctic  Circle.  At  present  the  Gellivare  mines 


SWEDEN.  599 

are  the  only  ones  that  are  well  developed.  The  ore  is  carried  by 
rail  to  Lulea  on  the  Baltic  Sea  or  across  Norway  to  Ofoten.  This 
port,  although  so  far  north,  is  open  all  the  year,  while  Lulea  is  in- 
accessible in  winter.  This  railroad  passes  the  great  deposits  of 
Kirunavaara  and  Luossavaara,  where  surveys  indicate  the  existence 
of  over  200,000,000  tons  of  ore  above  the  water  level.  The  Swedish 
Government  has  limited  the  amount  for  export  to  1,500,000  tons  per 
year.  The  ore  runs  from  57  to  70  per  cent,  in  iron,  the  A  grade 
being  guaranteed  between  67  and  70  per  cent,  with  phosphorus  be- 
low .05  per  cent.,  but  unfortunately  there  is  comparatively  little  of 
this  kind.  The  next  class  runs  from  66  to  69  per  cent,  with  phos- 
phorus from  .05  to  .10  per  cent.,  and  so  on  down  to  the  poorest 
with  57  to  61  per  cent,  of  iron  and  1.50  to  3  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phorus. 

The  field  has  been  only  partially  explored,  but  the  phosphorus  is 
scattered  haphazard  throughout  the  whole  deposit,  so  as  to  make 
careful  selection  necessary,  and  it  seems  certain  that  the  greater 
part  will  run  from  0.7  to  1  per  cent,  in  phosphorus  and  possibly 
from  1  to  2  per  cent.  The  ore  is  very  hard  and  must  be  blasted. 
The  sulphur  is  almost  always  below  0.10  per  cent.,  the  manganese 
about  0.30  per  cent.,  but  titanic  acid  is  present  in  varying  quanti- 
ties from  0.3  to  1  per  cent.  In  the  immediate  neighborhood  are 
the  Eoutivare  deposits,  of  great  extent,  but  as  they  contain  only  50 
per  cent,  of  iron  and  carry  11  to  13  per  cent,  of  titanic  acid,  they 
can  hardly  be  looked  upon  as  of  great  value. 

Some  of  the  older  iron  mines  in  Sweden  offer  ores  of  only  moder- 
ate quality.  The  deposit  at  Grangesberg  has  been  already  men- 
tioned as  being  from  50  to  58  per  cent,  in  iron,  from  .06  to  .27  per 
cent,  in  phosphorus  and  .03  to  .25  per  cent,  in  sulphur.  These  beds 
have  only  lately  come  into  prominence,  being  made  valuable  by  the 
development  of  the  basic  process.  The  f ar-f amed'Dannemora  mines 
produce  47,000  tons  per  year.  The  phosphorus  is  extremely  low, 
about  .002  per  cent.,  but  the  iron  is  50  per  cent,  and  the  silica  from 
9  to  15  per  cent.  The  Norberg  mines,  producing  138,000  tons, 
give  52  per  cent,  iron  and  from  2  to  32  per  cent,  of  silica.  Men- 
tion is  sometimes  made  of  the  famous  iron  mountain  of  Taberg, 
but  it  is  merely  a  rock  carrying  31  per  cent,  of  iron  with  21  per 
cent,  silica  and  6  per  cent,  titanic  acid.  The  exports  of  ore  in  1904 
amounted  to  about  3,000,000  tons.  The  Kirunavaara  and  Luossa- 


600 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


vaara  district  supplied  about  1,200,000  tons,  the  Gellivare  region 
about  1,000,000  tons,  and  Grangesberg  about  600,000  tons.  Ger- 
many takes  the  greater  part  of  this  ore,  but  England,  Belgium  and 
other  countries  receive  a  certain  quantity. 

TABLE  XXIX-B. 
List  of  Largest  Works  in  Sweden. 


Districts., 

Name  of 
Works. 

Nearest 
Large  Town? 

Steel 
Output  in 
1900; 
tons. 

f 

Iggesund  

Hudiksvall. 

6000 

Gefleborg  «j 

Forsbacka  

Gefle  

12,000 

Hof  ors  
Sandviken  
Avesta 

Gefle  
Gefle  
Falun 

20,000 
25,000 
20000 

Kopparberg  .... 

Langshyttan  

Falun    .  . 

6,000 

Domnarfvet  

Falun  

60,000 

Munkfors  

Filipstad 

6,000 

Vermland 

Hagfors 

Filipstad 

14000 

Nykroppa  

Filipstad  

15,000 

OraKrrt                             J 

Bofors*  

Kristinehamn.   .. 

5,000 

Degerfors  
Fagersta           

Kristinehanm.  .. 
Vesteras 

23,000 
19,000 

Vestmanland  < 

Hellefors 

Filipstad 

10000 

Upsala 

Gefle 

5  000 

r\  4.          ±1       A           f 

Motola 

Motala 

6000 

Ostergotland  .  .  .  .  < 

7  000 

*  Mainly  steel  castings,  guns,  armor,  etc. 

In  Fig.  XXIX-A  I  have  combined  the  districts  before  described 
and  have  shown  (1)  the  extreme  north,  a  forest-covered,  unsettled 
country,  producing  ore  alone;  (2)  the  extreme  south,  producing 
coal  alone,  and  the  southern  central  portion,  making  a  small  amount 
of  iron;  (3)  the  central  district  west  of  Stockholm — in  which  the 
iron  industry  of  Sweden  is  centered. 

Some  readers  may  inquire  concerning  Norway,  so  it  may  be  well 
to  say  that  there  is  no  iron  made  in  Norway,  and  the  amount  has 
always  been  small ;  but  a  great  deal  of  Swedish  Lancashire  product 
has  been  taken  to  that  country  worked  into  finished  articles  and  ex- 
ported under  the  name  of  "Norway  iron."  This  term  may  now  be 
a  fixture  in  the  trade,  but  has  no  place  in  a  metallurgical  treatise. 
In  Table  XXIX-B  is  a  list  of  the  principal  steel  works  in  Sweden, 
showing  their  location  and  production  of  steel  in  1900. 


CHAPTEK   XXX. 

SPAIN. 

The  information  concerning  Spain  is  taken  from  a  paper  by  Alzola,  Jour.  I.  &  S.  I.  Vol. 
11, 1896,  and  from  miscellaneous  sources. 

Spain  claims  our  consideration  as  a  source  of  supply  for  ore.  It 
has  been  announced  many  times  that  the  mines  were  exhausted,  and 
it  is  a  fact  that  the  ore  is  growing  leaner.  At  some  mines  consid- 
erable spathic  ore  is  shipped,  which  was  not  considered  of  value  fif- 
teen years  ago,  but  in  spite  of  the  immense  amounts  of  ore  produced 
for  so  many  years  the  output  has  steadily  increased,  and  the  year 
1899  saw  by  far  the  greatest  record,  the  output  of  the  mines  being 
9,400,000  tons,  four-fifths  of  which  was  raised  around  Bilbao.  A 
considerable  quantity  of  this  is  smelted  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
mines,  and  there  are  a  few  steel  works  of  considerable  magnitude 
in  the  district,  the  fuel  being  drawn  from  coal  mines  in  Asturias, 
200  miles  west  of  Bilbao.  The  local  works,  however,  use  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  ore  output,  and  in  1900  over  90  per  cent, 
was  exported,  the  port  of  Bilbao  sending  out  two-thirds  of  the 
whole.  England  claimed  three-quarters  of  the  shipments  and  Ger- 
many the  greater  part  of  the  rest.  Detailed  figures  are  shown  in 
Table  XXX-A  and  Fig.  XXX-A.  The  Bilbao  ore  proper  comes 
from  an  area  15  miles  in  length  and  2J  miles  in  width.  Four 
classes  are  distinguished:* 

(1)  Vena,  a  soft  purple  compact  and  often  powdery  hematite. 

(2)  Campanil,  a  compact  and  crystalline  red  hematite,  often  ac- 
companied by  rhombohedra  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

(3)  Rubio,  a  brown  hematite  mixed  with  silicious  material. 

(4)  Carbonate,  a  gray  granular  and  silicious  or  a  creamy  white 
laminated  and  crystalline  spathic  iron  ore. 

Vena  is  the  purest  and  was  the  only  one  used  in  the  ancient  local 

*Brough,  Cantor  Lectures  Soc.  Arts,  Man.  and  Commerce.  Feb.,  1900. 
601 


602 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


Catalan  forges.    Campanil,  on  account  of  its  low  phosphorus,  is  the 
most  valuable,  but  is  nearly  exhausted.     Rubio  is  the  most  abun- 


X 

I 


dant,  but  is  mixed  with  veins  of  iron  pyrites.     Carbonato  is  found 
usually  below  the  other  ores. 

The  district  is  divided  into  seven  parts;  the  Sommorosto  pro- 
duces half  the  total  from  the  beds  of  Triano  and  Matamoros.    The 


SPAIN. 


603 


other  districts  are  Galdames,  Sopuerta,  Ollargan,  Abondo,  Alonso- 
legui  and  Guenes.  The  Vena  ore  runs  56  per  cent,  in  iron;  Cam- 
panil  54  per  cent.,  and  the  spathic  ore  from  40  to  45  per  cent.,  giv- 
ing 55  to  60  per  cent,  after  roasting.  The  composition  of  Rubio 
ore,  which  is  the  great  bulk  of  the  hematite  shipments,  was  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion  by  William  Whitwell,  in  his  presidential  address 

TABLE  XXX-A. 
Spanish  Ore  Production  and  Exports. 


1899 

1903 

Viscaya  

6,495,564 

4,760,000 

Sant  auder  

1,158,169 

1,360,000 

Murcia 

668  947 

7351000 

537  144 

725.000 

Other  Provinces  .   ..               ... 

537,910 

898.600 

Total  mined  . 

9,397  734 

8,478,600 

Exported  

8,613,137 

7,692,214 

Consumed  .             .                 .... 

830,665 

before  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute.  He  compared  the  analyses  at 
his  own  works  at  Thornaby,  near  Middlesbrough,  during  eleven 
years,  and  they  showed  a  constant  decrease  in  quality. 

1890  1900 

Pe  in  ore  as  received 50.50  47.99 

SiO2  in  ore  as  received 7.10  10.09 

Moisture    9.00  9.10 

Pe  in  dry  state 55.50  62.80 

The  spathic  ore,  lately  considered  of  much  value,  runs  40  to  45 
per  cent,  in  iron,  giving  from  55  to  60  per  cent,  after  roasting. 

In  addition  to  the  deposits  of  northern  Spain,  there  are  extensive 
deposits  on  the  Mediterranean,  the  principal  centers  being  in  the 
provinces  of  Murcia,  Almeria  and  Malaga.  It  is  from  Murcia  that 
the  Porman  ore  comes,  the  mines  being  near  to  Carthagena.  This 
is  a  brown  hematite  rather  high  in  silica  and  containing  a  certain 
amount  of  lead,  which  is  not  a  desirable  thing  around  an  iron 
furnace.  There  are  other  deposits  farther  inland,  the  deposits  of 
Morata  being  ten  miles  from  the  coast  and  those  of  Calaspara  about 
85  miles,  the  latter  ore  being  a  red  hematite  running  57  per  cent. 
Some  magnetite  of  poorer  quality  is  also  found.  Almeria  produces 
the  Herrerias  ore,  containing  52  per  cent,  of  iron  and  8  per  cent,  of 
manganese,  which  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  spiegel,  and  it 


604  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

also  furnishes  the  Sierra  de  Bedar  ore  from  the  mines  of  Jupiter, 
Porfiado  and  San  Manuel.  Some  of  the  Bedar  ore  is  fine  and  runs 
60  per  cent,  in  iron  when  dry,  while  other  mines  give  a  purple  lump 
ore  running  50  per  cent,  in  the  dry.  The  Sierra  Alhamilla  de- 
posits at  Los  Banos,  Alf aro  and  Lucainena  are  also  in  this  province. 
They  are  remarkably  low  in  phosphorus  and  are  in  the  form  of  big 
hard  lumps,  and  command  an  extra  price  for  use  in  open-hearth 
furnaces. 

In  the  province  of  Malaga  are  found  the  ores  of  Marbella,  the 
mines  lying  three  miles  from  the  coast  and  thirty  miles  southwest 
of  Malaga.  This  is  a  magnetite  containing  60  per  cent,  of  iron. 
There  are  other  deposits  in  the  vicinity  of  Estepona  and  Eobledal. 
The  province  of  Sevilla  also  produces  a  considerable  quantity  from 
the  mines  of  Pedroso  and  Guadalcanal,  but  the  ore  must  be  carried 
over  fifty  miles  to  Sevilla  and  this  port  cannot  accommodate  vessels 
of  a  large  size.  The  province  of  Huelva  furnishes  the  Kio  Tinta 
ore,  which  is  a  hard  and  lumpy  but  sulphurous  deposit. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

ITALY. 

A  certain  amount  of  iron  and  steel  is  made  in  Italy,  the  whole 
country  in  1899  having  in  operation  21  open-hearth  furnaces,  two 
Bessemer  and  two  Robert  converters.  Most  of  the  steel  was  made 
from  imported  pig-iron  and  scrap.  The  Terni  works  is  the  largest 
plant,  and  in  1899  it  imported  90,000  tons  of  material,  converting 
this  into  supplies  for  the  railways  and  the  navy.  The  amount  of 
pig-iron  imported  is  from  six  to  eight  times  as  much  as  is  melted 
within  its  borders.  It  is  necessary  to  mention  the  mines  of  Elba, 
which  have  been  famous  for  centuries  and  which  have  supplied 
America  with  large  quantities  of  low-phosphorus  ores.  These  de- 
posits are  controlled  by  the  Italian  Government,  which  has  leased 
them  for  short  periods  to  contractors,  but  now  has  followed  the 
wiser  plan  of  giving  a  long  lease.  The  terms  of  the  contract,  made 
in  1898,  are  intended  to  encourage  the  manufacture  of  iron  and 
steel  at  home.  The  Government  is  to  receive  a  royalty  of  ten  cents 
per  ton  on  all  ore  smelted  in  Italy,  but  it  must  receive  $1.50  on  all 
ore  shipped  to  other  countries.  The  company  securing  this  lease 
is  made  up  of  home  capital  in  the  Island  of  Elba,  and  it  is  develop- 
ing coal  mines  across  the  ocean  in  Venezuela  for  a  supply  of  fuel. 
The  lease  runs  twenty  years,  and  not  over  160,000  tons  per  year 
may  be  exported,  while  at  least  40,000  tons  must  be  offered  to 
Italian  furnaces. 

An  important  point  in  the  general  problem  is  that  in  the  past 
the  ore  has  been  taken  away  from  Elba  as  return  cargo  in  vessels 
carrying  coal  to  Italy,  and  if  such  exports  cease  the  cost  of  coal  and 
coke  will  be  higher.  A  still  more  important  matter  is  the  ap- 
proaching exhaustion  of  the  deposit.  The  Government  has  care- 
fully surveyed  the  remaining  supply  and  has  limited  the  output  so 
that  it  will  last  twenty  or  thirty  years  at  the  rate  of  about  250,000 
tons  per  year.  Needless  to  say  the  working  of  the  lessening  and 

605 


606  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 

narrowing  beds,  scattered  over  a  considerable  area,  will  be  done 
at  a  considerably  increasing  cost.  It  is  safe  to  say,  therefore,  that 
the  mines  of  Elba  can  hardly  be  viewed  as  an  important  factor  in 
the  international  iron  trade. 

TABLE  XXXI-A. 
Exports  of  Ore  from  Elba  in  1899. 

Tons. 

Great  Britain   102,700 

Germany  via  Holland 53,300 

United  States   41,700 

France   29,000 

Total 226,700 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CANADA. 

Up  to  the  year  1901  the  iron  and  steel  industry  of  Canada  was 
of  little  importance,  but  it  has  now  come  to  the  front  as  the  land 
of  new  enterprises  of  considerable  magnitude.  An  extensive  sys- 
tem of  industries,  of  which  a  steel  works  is  only  a  part,  is  develop- 
ing on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  Sault,  between  Lake  Superior  and 
Lake  Huron.  The  Bessemer  plant  connected  with  this  latter  enter- 
prise consists  of  two  six-ton  converters  and  was  started  in  Febru- 
ary, 1902.  It  is  the  intention  to  use  charcoal  for  fuel  in  the  blast 
furnace,  this  charcoal  being  supplied  from  the  waste  in  the  lum- 
bering operations  conducted  by  the  company.  If  this  plan  is 
found  to  be  economical,  and  it  is  by  no  means  out  of  the  question, 
this  will  be  the  only  place  in  the  world,  except  in  Sweden  and  the 
Urals,  where  a  large  steel  plant  is  run  on  charcoal  iron.  During 
the  summer  of  1902  and  up  to  the  time  of  writing,  the  plant  has 
been  closed  on  account  of  financial  difficulties,  and  the  future  is 
uncertain. 

Another  plant  is  on  different  lines  and  presents  points  of  inter- 
est to  the  metallurgist.  The  Dominion  Iron  and  Steel  Company 
has  built  a  steel  works  at  Sydney,  Cape  Breton,  at  which  point  the 
company  owns  very  extensive  fields  of  rich  coal.  The  coal  varies 
considerably  and  some  beds  are  high  in  sulphur,  so  that  for  the 
production  of  coke  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  wash  the  coal. 
Table  XXXII-A  shows  the  composition  of  the  raw  material  as 
publicly  stated  by  the  management. 

The  ore,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Wabana,  comes  from  Great 
Bell  Island  in  Concepcion  Bay,  Newfoundland,  about  35  miles 
from  St.  Johns,  and  about  400  miles  from  the  steel  plant  at  Sydney. 
It  is  easily  mined,  being  in  well-defined  thin  layers  and  of  a  brittle 
nature,  but  is  not  of  the  best  quality.  It  will  give  a  pig-iron  run- 
ning about  1.5  per  cent,  in  phosphorus,  which  is  rather  low  for 
basic  Bessemer  practice  and  rather  high  for  an  open-hearth  furnace. 

607 


608 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXXII-A. 
Composition  of  Fuel  and  Ore  at  Cape  Breton. 


Raw  Coal. 

Reserve 

Mine. 

Caledonia 
Mine. 

Dominion 

Mine. 

Moisture  

1.45 

1.54 

1.21 

Volatile  Matter.. 
Fixed  Carbon  .  .  . 

32  45 
60.45 
1.64 

30.86 
62.91 
1.50 

31.89 
61  49 
1.56 

Ash    ...  ..1! 

5.65 

4.69 

5  41 

Washed  Coal— 
Moisture.    

1  01 

1.08 

0.84 

Volatile  Mattter. 
Fixed  Carbon.... 
Sulphur  

32.99 
62.21 
1  11 

33.92 
61.69 
1.07 

37.86 
62.60 
1  17 

Ash  

3.79 

3.31 

4.50 

Retort  Coke— 

0  91 

0  78 

1.01 

Ash  

6.07 

5.38 

6.24 

Bell  Island  Ore. 

Best. 

Worst. 

Moisture 

1  50 

2  50 

Fe 

54  43 

51  84 

SiO8  

9.34 

13.00 

p   . 

0  744 

0  835 

s  

0  05 

0.03 

There  are  four  blast  furnaces  85  by  20  feet  and  ten  50-ton 
open-hearth  furnaces  of  the  Campbell  type.  The  first  steel  was 
made  on  December  31,  1901.  Sydney  is  on  a  good  harbor,  but  this 
is  closed  by  ice  a  part  of  the  year,  during  which  time  traffic  can 
be  carried  on  by  way  of  Louisburg,  forty  miles  by  railroad  on  the 
south  coast.  The  ore  deposit  at  Bell  Island  is  also  on  good  water, 
but  is  likewise  ice-bound  for  three  or  four  months  in  the  year. 

In  this  same  district  are  the  two  works  of  the  Nova  Scotia  Steel 
Co.,  with  eight  open-hearth  furnaces. 

One  of  the  arguments  advanced  in  favor  of  new  works  in 
Canada  is  the  bounty  offered  by  the  Government  on  pig-iron  and 
steel  manufactured  within  the  Dominion.  During  the  year  1905 
the  bounty  is  $1.05  on  every  ton  of  pig-iron  made  from  native  ore, 
and  an  additional  $1.05  for  every  ton  of  steel,  making  a  total  of 
$2.10  for  each  ton  of  steel  from  native  ore.  This  falls  to  $1.20 
during  1906,  and  then  ceases  altogether. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  IRON"  INDUSTRY. 

In  Tables  XXXIII-D  to  L,  inclusive,  is  given  the  production 
of  coal,  iron  ore,  iron  and  steel  in  the  leading  nations.  In  the 
case  of  some  countries  certain  information  can  hardly  be  obtained 
at  all,  as,  for  instance,  in  regard  to  the  production  of  wrought-iron 
or  of  lignite  in  the  United  States.  In  other  cases  there  is  much 
difference  in  the  way  the  figures  are  usually  given.  In  the  United 
States  the  production  of  steel  is  the  ingot  weight.  We  do  have  a 
figure  of  finished  rolled  material,  but  this  includes  the  wrought- 
iron.  In  England  the  ingot  is  also  used,  but  in  some  other  countries 
the  data  are  given  for  the  finished  bar,  while  in  Belgium  the  records 
show  the  weight  of  the  blooms  or  billets  in  the  intermediate  stage. 

Judging  from  my  own  ignorance  in  the  matter,  it  is  doubtful  if 
most  people  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  accurate  statistics 
of  production.  This  will  be  illustrated  by  Table  XXXIII-A,  which 
gives  figures  on  the  output  of  steel  in  Germany.  The  data  from 
Wedding  were  collected  exclusively  for  this  book,  and  as  they  dis- 
agreed with  other  records  an  investigation  was  made  for  me  by 
Consul-General  Mason  in  Berlin.  The  different  figures  were  then 
sent  to  Mr.  Schrodter  and  I  asked  for  an  explanation  of  what  is 
meant  by  finished  steel,  and  whether  the  same  metal  could  appear 
twice  in  Mason's  tabulation.  Mr.  Schrodter  states  that  not  until 
the  year  1900  were  any  records  kept  of  the  output  of  ingots,  but 
does  not  cast  any  light  on  the  question  of  duplication.  He  does 
state,  however,  that  the  amount  of  finished  material  in  1900  was 
6,361,650  tons,  which  is  given  by  Mason  as  the  total  output.  He 
also  states  that  the  total  production  of  ingots  and  castings  was 
6,645,869.  This  is  the  same  thing  as  saying  that  the  weight  of 
finished  material  was  95.72  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  ingots,  a 
difference  of  only  4.28  per  cent,  to  account  for  all  scrap  and  oxida- 
tion, and  I  can  hardly  believe  that  the  figures  are  correct 

609 


610 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


TABLE  XXXIII- A. 
Discordant  Data  on  Steel  Output  in  Germany. 


Source  of  Information. 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

Swank  •  Am  I  &  8  Ass    1901 

6  328  666 

6  365  259 

Mineral  Industry  1901   

5  734,307 

6,290,434 

6,645,869 

5  065  896 

5,667  050 

6  645  869 

4  352  831 

4  791,022 

4,799  000 

4,'967,770 

441,601 

467  721 

352  935 

Blooms  billets  etc                  .... 

986  572 

1  040.670 

1  183,128 

4  362  831 

4  820  275 

4  825  587 

Total                                    

5  781  004 

6  328  666 

6  361  650 

107,210 

6,287,012 

Total  

6,645,869 

6,394,222 

*  Private  Communication. 

Much  confusion  is  caused  by  differences  in  classification.  The 
term  "iron  and  steel  productions"  may  include  pig-iron  and  may 
not.  The  term  "bar-iron"  may  mean  wrought-iron,  or  may  include 
steel,  as  soft  steel  is  called  ingot-iron  on  the  Continent.  Some- 
times steam  engines  are  in  "iron  and  steel  exports/7  and  sometimes 
under  machinery.  It  is  difficult  to  find  the  truth  without  a 
detailed  analysis  of  the  original  records,  which  is  not  often  prac- 
ticable. 

The  iron  producers  may  be  divided  into  three  classes  according 
to  the  quantity  of  pig-iron  and  steel  they  produce.  First,  and 
almost  in  a  class  by  itself,  is  the  United  States ;  next  come  Germany 
and  Great  Britain.  These  three  nations  produce  eighty  per  cent,  of 
all  the  coal,  pig-iron  and  steel  made  in  the  world,  and  nearly  seventy 
per  cent,  of  the  iron  ore. 

In  the  next  class  are  France,  Eussia,  Austria  and  Belgium.  These 
four  nations  produce  eighteen  per  cent,  of  all  the  pig-iron  and 
steel  made  in  the  world,  and  fifteen  per  cent,  of  all  the  coal  and 
iron  ore. 

The  third  class  includes  Sweden  and  Spain,  which  are  important 
as  sources  of  the  iron  supply  for  the  greater  nations,  but  which 
have  no  coal  for  smelting.  In  the  same  list,  but  of  less  importance, 
are  Greece,  Algeria,  Cuba  and  Italy,  which  are  widely  known  for 
their  ore  mines,  but  produce  little  or  no  iron. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY.  611 

Another  comparison  is  according  to  the  pig-iron  produced  per 
inhabitant,  as  shown  in  Table-  XXXIII-B. 

TABLE  XXXIII-B. 
Production  of  Pig-Iron  per  Capita  in  1899 ;  pounds. 


Great  Britain 605 

United  States 405 

Germany 330 

Belgium 322 

Sweden 244 

France 145 

Austria-Hungary 67 

Russia 46 

Italy 1 


The  United  States  is  self-contained,  possessing  within  its 
borders  all  the  material  necessary  for  the  iron  industry.  Some  ore 
is  imported  for  plants  near  the  seaboard,  and  small  lots  of  foreign 
pig-iron  find  their  way  into  the  country,  but  the  proportion  of 
imports  is  small  for  either  fuel,  ore,  iron  or  steel.  This  arises  from 
the  geographical  isolation  of  America  and  the  prohibitory'  dis- 
tances from  other  sources  of  supply.  To  understand  the  different 
conditions  in  Europe  it  is  only  necessary  to  consider  that  the 
boundary  of  France  touches  the  coal  of  Belgium,  and  the  boundary 
of  Belgium  touches  the  ore  of  Luxemburg.  The  close  geographical 
relations  of  the  countries  in  northwestern  Europe  naturally  give 
rise  to  inter-traffic  in  raw  materials,  when  unhampered  by  foolish 
tariff  restrictions  on  such  articles.  The  iron  industry  of  Belgium  is 
founded  on  imported  ore,  while  France,  Germany  and  England 
bring  from  one-fifth  to  one-third  of  their  ore  supply  from  beyond 
the  boundary.  Belgium  imports  almost  all  her  ore,  and  Great 
Britain  and  France  import  about  one-third  of  all  that  is  used.  On 
the  other  hand,  Germany  exports  almost  as  much  as  she  imports, 
while  Sweden  sends  most  of  her  ore  abroad. 

Belgium  and  Germany  are  the  only  nations  that  import  any 
considerable  portion  of  their  pig-iron,  while  Great  Britain  is  the 
only  one  that  exports  any  important  amount.  In  1899  and  1900 
the  latter  nation  exported  15  per  cent,  of  her  pig-iron.  In  these 
two  years  the  United  States  exported  only  two  per  cent,  and  Ger- 
many the  same,  while  in  1901  the  United  States  sent  abroad  only 
one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  her  pig-iron. 

In  wrought-iron  and  steel,  Great  Britain,  Russia  and  Belgium 


612  THE  IRON    INDUSTRY. 

import  quite  a  considerable  proportion  of  their  total  production, 
while  the  United  States  imports  a  very  small  percentage.  Singu- 
larly enough,  the  nations  that  import  the  greatest  proportion  also 
export  the  greatest,  for  England  exports  one-third  of  her  finished 
iron  and  steel,  and  Belgium  nearly  one-half  of  her  output.  The 
United  States  up  to  the  present  time  has  shipped  away  only  a  small 
proportion  of  her  output,  but  in  1900  it  reached  12  per  cent,  of  the 
total. 

This  comparison  gives  some  idea  of  the  character  of  the  busi- 
ness of  these  nations,  but  it  does  not  convey  any  definite  informa- 
tion about  the  extent  to  which  these  nations  influence  the  com- 
merce of  the  world.  Thus,  although  the  United  States  sent  abroad 
only  a  small  proportion  of  her  products,  the  actual  tonnage  so  ex- 
ported in  1900  was  nearly  three  times  the  over-sea  shipments  of 
Belgium,  although  the  latter  nation  sent  nearly  half  of  her  products 
to  other  countries.  The  overshadowing  factors  in  over-sea  com- 
merce are  Great  Britain,  Germany  and  the  United  States.  Other 
nations  play  a  small  part  in  the  general  international  iron  trade. 

There  are  some  people  who  may  look  for  a  table  giving  the  rate 
of  wages  in  each  country,  and  possibly  it  would  please  my  political 
friends  to  have  figures  tabulated  to  prove  some  tariff  theories.  It 
would  be  easy  to  give  statistics  on  either  side.  From  personal  knowl- 
edge I  could  quote  the  earnings  of  boiler-makers  in  free-trade  Eng- 
land at  over  $7  per  day  and  the  wages  of  skilled  rolling-mill 
men  at  $1.50  in  protectionist  Germany  and  Austria.  It  is  well 
known  to  manufacturers  and  employers  of  labor  that  the  informa- 
tion collected  by  our  Government  is  hardly  worth  the  trouble  of 
printing,  but  statisticians  are  constantly  quoting  the  records  for 
want  of  better  information.  The  weak  points  are  recognized  by 
the  Department  itself,  but  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
obtaining  data.  Thus  it  is  of  little  use  to  record  that  the  wages 
of  bricklayers  are  $5  per  day  in  a  certain  city  and  only  $2.50  in 
a  certain  town,  for  it  is  quite  probable  that  in  the  city  the  work  is 
intermittent,  made  up  of  short  jobs  interrupted  by  weather,  so  that 
from  inclement  days  and  intervals  between  jobs,  the  annual  earn- 
ings will  be  no  more  than  in  the  town  where  perhaps  a  steel  works 
offers  steady  work  under  shelter  in  rough  weather  throughout  the 
whole  year,  and  where  the  rent  and  cost  of  living  is  less  than  in 
the  greater  community.  It  is  also  of  little  value  to  give  the  aver- 


STATISTICS    OF   THE   IRON"    INDUSTRY. 


613 


age  amount  of  money  drawn  by  an  employee,  for  it  is  necessary  to 
know  whether  every  man  worked  full  time. 

It  is  not  in  the  province  of  this  book  to  discuss  the  future,  but 
it  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  serious  inroads  now  being 
made  upon  the  supply  of  iron  ore.  In  1865  the  world  mined  about 
18,000,000  tons  of  ore,  and  in  1903  over  100,000,000  tons.  If  this 
rate  of  increase  continues  during  the  coming  years  the  consump- 


TABLE  XXXIII-C. 

Approximate  Annual  Output  in  the  Pig-Iron-Producing  Districts. 


District. 


Tons. 


Pittsburgh  ;  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  W.  Va.,  U.  S.  A. .  8,350,000 

The  Rul.r ;  western  Westphalia,  Germany 4,010,000 

Lothringen  and  Luxemburg,  Germany 3,210,000 

Northeast  coast  of  England  ;  (Cleveland) 3,000,000 

Eastern  France ;  the  Minette  District 1,800,000 

Illinois,  U.  S.  A..... 1,650,000 

West  coast  of  England ;  Lancashire  and  Cumberland 1,500,000 

Alabama,  U.  S.  A 1,450,000 

Southern  Russia] 1,350,000 

Belgium 1,300,000 

Scotland '. 1,250,000 

South  Wales 880,000 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A 850,000 

Silesia,  Germany 750,000 

The  Saar,  Germany 740,000 

Steel  ton  ;  Dauphin  and  Lebanon  Counties,  Pennsylvania 700,000 

The  Siegen,  Germany 700,000 

Eastern  Central  England 640,000 

The  Urals,  Russia 640,000 

Johnstown,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A 610,000 

New  York  and  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  A 590,000 

Staffordshire,  England 570,000 

Central  England 560,000 

Virginia,  U.  S.  A 500,000 

Lehigh  Valley,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A 500,000 

Central  Sweden 500,000 

Southeast  Pennsylvania,  U.  S.  A 450,000 

Hungary 430,000 

Tennessee,  U.  S.  A 400,000 

Moravia  and  Silesia,  Austria 320,000 

Hanging  Rock,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A 300,000 

Sparrow's  Point,  Md.,  U.  S.  A 300,000 

Northern  France 300,000 

Spain 300,000 

Styria,  Austria 300,000 

Poland,  Russia 300,000 

Sheffield,  England 280,000 

Canada 270,000 

Bohemia,  Austria 260,000 

Central  France 250,000 

All  other  districts  and  countries 3,310,000 

Total  for  the  world 46,370,000 


614 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


tion  in  1935  will  be  so  rapid  that  in  a  period  of  five  years,  say 
from  1935  to  1939  inclusive,  as  much  ore  will  be  smelted  as  was 
used  from  1880  to  1900. 

We  are  today  eating  up  the  hoardings  of  untold  geologic  ages 
at  a  rate  which  will  exhaust  the  known  rich  deposits  during  the 
present  century.  When  these  are  gone  it  may  be  that  others  will 
be  discovered,  and  it  may  be  that  the  eastern  part  of  the  United 


TABLE  XXXIII-D. 
Approximate  Annual  Output  in  the  Steel-Producing  Districts. 


District. 


Tons. 


Pittsburgh  ;  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  W.  Va.,  U.  S.  A. .  7,400,000 

The  Ruhr,  western  Westphalia,  including  Aachen,  Germany 4,660,000 

Illinois,  U.  S.  A 1,750,000 

Lothringen  and  Luxemburg,  Germany 1,410,000 

Northeast  coast  of  England  ;  (Cleveland) 1,300,000 

The  Saar,  Germany 1,040,000 

South  Wales 1,000,000 

Belgium 1,000,000 

South  Russia 980,000 

Scotland t..  950,000 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A 870,000 

Johnstown,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A 800,000 

West  coast  of  England  ;  Lancashire  and  Cumberland 800.000 

Eastern  France ;  the  Minette  District 650,000 

Silesia,  Germany 590,000 

South  Yorkshire,  England 560,000 

New  York  and  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  A 550,000 

Southeast  Pennsylvania,  U.  S.  A 500,000 

Steeltou,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A 440,000 

Northern  France 380,000 

Staffordshire,  England 380,000 

Hungary 350,000 

Sparrow's  Point,  Md.,  U.  S.  A 350,000 

Central  France 310,000 

The  Urals,  Russia 290,000 

Poland,  Russia 280,000 

Central  Sweden 280,000 

Styria,  Austria 250,000 

Colorado,  U.  S.  A 240,000 

Ilsede,  Germany 240,000 

Moravia  and  Silesia,  Austria 230,000 

Bohemia,  Austria 210,000 

New  England,  U.  S.  A 200,000 

Spain 200,000 

Italy 190,000 

Moscow,  Russia 190,000 

Canada 180,000 

North  Russia 180,000 

The  Siegen,  Germany 150,000 

Saxony,  Germany 140,000 

All  other  districts  and  countries 3,380,000 

Total  for  the  world 35,850,000 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  IRON  INDUSTRY. 


615 


States  will  depend  upon  the  concentration  of  the  lean  beds  of  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  Alabama,  while  Europe  will 
work  the  mammoth  beds  of  Luxemburg  and  Lothringen.  It  is 
to  be  expected  that  the  Rocky  Mountains  will  furnish  new  fields, 
while  Africa  and  the  unknown  corners  of  the  earth  may  be  relied 
on  to  prevent  a  catastrophe. 

TABLE  XXXIII-E. 
Production  of  Coal,  Ore,  Pig-Iron  and  Steel  in  1903. 

NOTE  :  One  unit  =  1,000  gross  tons. 


Coal. 

Ore. 

Pig  Iron. 

Steel. 

Tons. 

Per 
cent, 
of 
total. 

Tons. 

Per 
cent, 
of 
total. 

Tons. 

Per 

cent, 
of 
total. 

Tons. 

Per 
cent, 
of 
total. 

United  States 

319,068 
230,334 
162,457 

34,906 
23,797 
40,629 
17,500 
320 
2,587 
347 
6,825 

36.5 
26.4 
18.6 
4.0 

2.7 
4.7 
2.0 

35,019 
13,716 
21,231 
6,220 
184 
3,269 
5,648* 
3,678 
8,304 
375 
236 
625 

34.4 
13.5 
20.9 
6.1 
0.2 
3.2 
5.6 
3.6 
8.2 
0.4 
0.2 
0.6 

18,009 
8,935 
10,086 
2,841 
1,217 
i;428 
2,454 
507 
303 
75 
265 

38.8 
19.3 
21.8 
6.1 
2.6 
3.1 
5.3 
1.1 
0.7 
0.2 
0.6 

14,535 
5,134 
8,802 
1,885 
969 
1,193* 
2,375 
319 
200 
187 
182 

40.6 
14.3 
24.5 
5.3 
2.7 
3.3 
6.6 
0.9 
0.6 
0.5 
0.5 

Great  Britain  

Germany  and  Luxemburg  — 
France  

Belgium                   

Austria-Hungary  
Russia  and  Finland  

Sweden                     .  .      . 

Spain 

0.3 
'  '  0.8 

Italy                

Canada 

Cuba       

Transvaal 

2,258 
7^438 
6,355 
9,702* 

Mg 

0.3 
0.9 
0.7 
1.1 
0.2 

India  

85* 
14* 
70t 

0.1 

New  South  Wales   .  . 

Japan 

d.i 

New  Zealand  

Greece 

360 
589 
2,162 

0.4 
0.6 
1.9 

Algeria  

Otner  countries  

7,581 

0.8 

248 

0.4 

65 

0.2 

Total  

873,535 

100.0 

101,785 

100.0 

46,368 

100.0 

35,846 

100.0 

=  1902. 


1901. 


TABLE  XXXIII-F. 
Production  of  Coal  (all  kinds) ;  1  unit=^  1000  gross  or  metric  tons. 


Year. 

United 
States. 

Great 
Britain. 

Germany 
and  Lux- 
emburg. 

France. 

Russia. 

Austria- 
Hungary. 

Belgium. 

I860.  .. 

63,823 

146,969 

59,118 

19,362 

3,238 

14,800 

16,867 

1885. 

99,250 

159,351 

73,676 

19,511 

4,208 

90,436 

17,438 

1890. 

140,867 

181,614 

89,057 

86,083 

6,017 

27,504 

20,366 

1895. 

172,426 

189,661 

103,958 

28,020 

9,079 

32,655 

20,415 

1896. 

171,416 

195,361 

112,471 

29,190 

9,229 

33,676 

21,252 

1897. 

178,769 

202,119 

120,474 

30.798 

11,207 

35,939 

21,492 

1898. 

196,407 

202,042 

127,959 

32.356 

12,242 

87,788 

22,088 

1899. 

226,555 

220,085 

135,844 

32,863 

13,558 

38,738 

22,072 

1900. 

240,789 

225,181 

149,788 

33,270 

14,913 

38,064 

83,483 

1901. 

261,874 

219,047 

152,629 

82,325 

16,270 

41,203 

22,213 

1902. 

269.277 

230,729 

150,600 

29,997 

15,503 

39,387 

22.877 

1903. 

319,068 

234,009 

162,620 

a5.003 

16,200 

39,600 

23.871 

1904. 

314,122 

232,428 

169,451 

34,168 

19,318 

41,014 

22,761 

1905 

350,821 

236,129 

173,797 

21,844 

616 


THE  IRON  INDUSTRY 


TABLE  XXXIII-G. 
Production  of  Iron  Ore;  1  unit  =1000  gross  or  metric  tons. 


Year. 

United 
States. 

Great 
Britain. 

Germany 
and  Lux- 
emburg. 

France 

Rus- 
sia. 

Austria- 
Hun- 
gary. 

Bel- 
gium. 

Swe- 
den. 

Spain. 

1880. 

7,120 

18,026 

7,239 

2,874 

1,024 

1,143 

253 

775 

3,565 

1885. 

7,600 

15,418 

9,158 

2,318 

1,094 

1,582 

187 

873 

3,933 

1890. 

16,036 

13,781 

11,410 

3,472 

1,796 

2,154 

172 

941 

6,546 

1891. 

14,591 

12,778 

10,658 

3,579 

1,999 

2,107 

202 

987 

4,882 

1892. 

16,297 

11,313 

11,539 

3,707 

2,044 

1,914 

210 

1,294 

5,436 

1893. 

11,588 

11,203 

11,458 

3,517 

2,095 

2,086 

239 

1,484 

5,498 

1894. 

11,880 

12,367 

12,392 

3,772 

2,488 

2,115 

311 

1,927 

5,397 

1895. 

15,958 

12,615 

12,350 

3,680 

2,927 

2,340 

313 

1,905 

5,514 

1896. 

16,005 

13,701 

14,162 

4,062 

3,205 

2,719 

307 

2,039 

6,763 

1897. 

17,518 

13,788 

15,466 

4,582 

4,112 

3,035 

241 

2,087 

7,420 

1898. 

19,434 

14,177 

15,893 

4,731 

4,871 

3,401 

217 

2,303 

7,197 

1899. 

24,683 

14,461 

17,990 

4,986 

5,880 

3,853 

201 

2,435 

9,398 

1900. 

27,553 

14,028 

18,964 

5,448 

5,989 

3,462 

248 

2,610 

8,480 

1901. 

28,887 

12,275 

16,570 

4,791 

5,663 

3,643 

219 

2,795 

7,907 

1902. 

35,554 

13,426 

17,964 

5,004 

5,648 

3,329 

166 

2,897 

7,905 

1903. 

35,019 

13,716 

21,231 

6,220 

4,219 

3,269 

184 

3,678 

8,479 

1904. 

27,600 

13,774 

22,047 

7,023 

5,272 

3,381 

207 

4,085 

7,965 

1905 

42526 

14,591 

23,444 

4,366 

9,395 

TABLE  XXXIII-H. 
Production  of  Pig-Iron;  1  unit  =  1000  gross  or  metric  tons. 


Year. 

United 
States. 

Great 
Britain. 

Germany 
and  Lux- 
emburg. 

France. 

Russia. 

Austria- 
Hun- 
gary. 

Bel- 
gium. 

Sweden. 

1880. 

3,835 

7,749 

2,729 

1,725 

471 

464 

608 

406 

1885. 

4,045 

7,415 

3,687 

1,631 

552 

715 

713 

465 

1890. 

9,203 

7,904 

4,658 

1,962 

950 

965 

788 

456 

1891. 

8,280 

7,406 

4,641 

1,897 

1,028 

922 

684 

491 

1892. 

9,157 

6,709 

4,937 

2,057 

1,038 

941 

753 

486 

1893. 

7,125 

6,977 

4,986 

2,003 

1,181 

982 

745 

453 

1894. 

6,657 

7,427 

5,380 

2,070 

1,333 

1,020 

819 

463 

1895. 

9,446 

7,703 

5,465 

2,004 

1,454 

1,108 

829 

463 

1896. 

8,623 

8,660 

6,373 

2,340 

1,867 

1,218 

959 

494 

1897. 

9,653 

8,796 

6,881 

2,484 

1,869 

1,320 

1,035 

538 

1898. 

11,774 

8,610 

7,313 

2,534 

2,222 

1,427 

983 

532 

1899. 

13,621 

9,421 

8,143 

2,567 

2,726 

1467 

1,036 

498 

1900. 

13,789 

8,960 

8,521 

2,714 

2,667 

1,458 

1,019 

527 

1901. 

15,878 

F7,929 

7,880 

2,389 

2,808 

1,300 

765 

528 

1902. 

17,821 

8,680 

8,530 

2,427 

2,566 

1,335 

1,103 

538 

1903. 

18,009 

8,935 

10,086 

2,841 

2,210 

1,355 

1,217 

507 

1904. 

16,497 

8,563 

10,104 

3,000 

2,978 

1,418 

1,307 

529 

1905. 

22,992 

9,593 

10,988 

3,077 

1,310 

539 

APPENDIX. 


617 


TABLE  XXXIII-L 
Production  of  Steel ;  1  unit  =  1000  gross  or  metric  tons. 


Year. 

United 

States. 

Great 
Britain/ 

Germany 
and  Lux- 
emburg. 

France. 

Russia. 

Austria- 
Hun- 
gary. 

Bel- 
gium. 

Sweden. 

1880. 

1,247 

1,375 

661 

389 

296 

134 

132 

29 

1885. 

1,712 

1,968 

1,203 

554 

193 

279 

155 

81 

1890. 

4,277 

3,679 

2,162 

582 

378 

500 

221 

169 

1891. 

3,904 

3,257 

2,563 

639 

433 

486 

244 

173 

1892. 

4,928 

3,020 

2,756 

682 

515 

511 

260 

159 

1893. 

4,020 

3,050 

3,163 

664 

631 

569 

273 

166 

1894. 

4,412 

3,211 

3,642 

663 

726 

660 

406 

168 

1895. 

6,115 

3,390 

3,963 

900 

879 

745 

455 

232 

1896. 

5,282 

4,233 

4,821 

1,160 

1,023 

878 

599 

251 

1897. 

7,157 

4,586 

5,137 

1,282 

1,205 

929 

617 

268 

1898. 

8,933 

4,666 

5,781 

1442 

1,596 

1,055 

653 

264 

1899. 

10,640 

4,955 

6,329 

1,499 

1,939 

1117 

731 

272 

1900. 

10,188 

5,001 

6,646 

1,565 

1,463 

1,134 

655 

300 

1901. 

13,474 

4,997 

6,394 

1,425 

1,815 

1,143 

527 

270 

1902. 

14,947 

5,009 

7,781 

1,635 

1,730 

1144 

777 

284 

1903. 

14,535 

5,134 

8,802 

1,863 

1,525 

1,146 

982 

310 

1904 

13860 

5,127 

8930 

2107 

1083 

334 

1905. 

20,024 

10,067 

2,137 

1,165 

361 

APPENDIX. 
Value  of  Certain  Factors  Used  in  Iron  Metallurgy. 


ATOMIC  WEIGHTS. 


Fe, 

66 

Si, 

28 

c, 

ia 

Mn, 

65 

Ca, 

40 

O. 

10 

1 

82 
31 
59 

Mg, 

S 

24 
27 
52 

N, 

14 
48 
184 

CONTENT  OF  METALLIC  IBON  IN  PUBK  COMPOUNDS  o»  IKON. 


FeCO. **  or  48  28  per  cent. 

FeO Jor77.78 

Fe.O, 

Fe,O4 


REACTIONS  IN  OPEN-HEARTH  FUBWACES. 


100  pot 
100 
100 
100 

nds  CaCO,  produce  66  pou 

|T>.    ;;    « 

Mn              "       129 

nds  CaO. 
MgO. 
SiO-. 
MnO. 

100 

Fe 

128 

FeO. 

100 

P 

"        229 

P«O«. 

100 

C 

"        233 

CO 

100 

C 

"        367 

CO,. 

Properties  of  Air. 

/  0=20.9  per  cent.    N=79.1  per  cent. 
Composition  by  volume  |0  :N=1 :  3^=4  :  15. 

n  .  ,  V4.  (0=23.2  per  cent.     N=76.8  per  cent. 

Composition  by  weight  |0  .  N==3  r10 

Weight  of  1  cubic  metre=1.293  kilogrammes. 
Weight  of  1  cubic  foot=0.0807  pounds. 

*          ««4««  /Constant  volume=0.003665 
Coefficient  of  expansion  {Constant  pressure=0.003670 


618 


APPENDIX. 


Standard  Factors   in  English  and  Metric  Systems. 

Abbreviations :   Cubic   metre=cu.  m. ;   cubic    foot=cu.    ft. ;   kilogramme—kg. ; 
pounds=lbs. ;  square  millimetre=sq.  mm. ;  British  thermal  unit=B.  t.  u. ;  calorie—cal. 


1  metre=39.37  inches. 
1  cu.  m.=35.316  cu.  ft. 
1  kg.=2.2046  Ibs. 

1  kg.  per  sq.  mm.=1422.32  Ibs.  per  sq.  inch. 
1  kg.  per  cu.  m.=0.0624  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft. 
1  gross  ton=2240  Ibs. 
1  metric  ton=2205  Ibs. 
1  calorie  raises  1  kg.  of  water  1°  Cent. 
1  B.  t.  u.  raises  1  pound  of  water  1°  Fahr. 
1  calorie=3.968  B.  t.  u. 
1  cal.  per  cu.  m.=0.112  B.  t.  u.  per  cu.  ft. 
1  cal.  per  kg.=1.8  B.  t.  u.  per  pound. 
1  B.  t.  u.  per  cu.  ft.=8.9  cals.  per  cu.  metre. 
1  kg.  per  cu.  metre=0.0624  Ibs.  per  cu.  ft. 
1  Boiler  horse-power=33305  B.  t.  u.  per  hour. 
1  Boiler  horse-power=8390  calories  per  hour. 
1  Indicated  horse-power=61090  B.  t.  u.  or  15394  calo- 
ries when  used  continuously  for  24  hours. 


Gravimetric  and  Calorific  Values. 


Weight  per 
Volume. 

Products 
of  com- 
bustion. 

Calorific  Value. 

Specific 
Heat. 
Cals.  per 
cu.  m.  or 
B.  t.  u. 
percu.ft. 

Kg. 
per 
cu.  m. 

Lbs. 
per 
cu.  ft. 

Cals. 
per 
kg. 

Cals. 
per 
cu.  m. 

B.  t.  u. 
per  Ib. 

B.  t.  u. 
per 
cu.  ft. 

Air 
N 
O 
CO2 
CO 
H 
CH4 
C2H4 

C 
Si 
P 
Fe 
Fe 
Mn 

1.29 
1.26 
1.43 
1.97 
1.25 
0.09 
0.72 
1.25 

0.080 
0.079 
0.089 
0.123 
0.078 
0.0056 
0.045 
0.078 

0.307 
0.307 
0.312 
0.426 
0.310 
0.305 
0.424 
0.463 

C02 
H20 
CO2  and  H2O 
CO2  and  H2O 

oo 

CO2 
SiO2 
P205 
FeO 
Fe203 
MnO 

2438 
29040 
11970 
10300 
2450 
8133 
6414 
5740 
1173 
1746 
1635 

3072 
2614 
8620 
12980 

4390 
54000 
21546 
18540 
4410 
14640 
11545 
10330 
2110 
3140 
2940 

345 
294 
967 
1454 

FORMULAE  FOE  SPECIFIC'  HEAT  OF  GASES  BETWEEN  O°C  and  t°«. 

CO,  =0.374  + 0.00027 1 

CO,  O,  H,  N  and  O  =  0,30  5  +  0.000027 1 
H,0  =  0  342  -f  0.00015 1 

CH4  =0. 418  -f-  0.00024 1 

CSH4  =0.424  + 0.00052 1 

Marfotte's  Law.— The  volume  of  a  gas  is  directly  proportional  to  the  absolute  temperature 

and  inversely  proportional  to  the  pressure  upon  it. 

Note :  Absolute  zero  —  -  273-5«C. 
law  of  Dulongand  Petit.— The  product  of  the  atomic  weight  of  an  elementary  subetanc* 

by  its  specific  heat  is  always  a  constant  quantity. 


APPENDIX. 


619 


dU 

3*6 
330 
3ZO 
3/0 
SCO 
230 
ZBO 
Z70 
2.6O 

1  1  1  1  1 

1 

1 

1    1 

"/S^S^S^SS 

\ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

lh 

m 

lolXl    1 

2SO 

2*0 

if  LfJ 

7  J^W- 

•    ~ 

i?r\ 

'^sr/T 

z/o 
zoo 
/so 

/60 
170 
160 

~~ 

x 

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— 

L 

BE 

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—  1  — 

^.     — 

>_  -i 

/ 

fff 

^ 

2^ 

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- 

7* 

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n*i 

£ 

- 

^ 

LLJ/1 

«c 

x 

± 

X 

/ 

' 

X 

/ 

/JO 

^ 

5x 

<^ 

/ 

< 

2 

^ 

7 

so 

fto 

^•^' 

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x 

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#* 

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^^ 

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^-^ 

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30 

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^— 

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,—  .  — 

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—  • 

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k  W    ;M  90  9   VD   m)   »  m    9    **    W    £   9 

j   C^    Q5CO^^)VQ^)CgfelD9&    ^>    GO    C 

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III 

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»     ^    X    "^    ^    ^*   N 

., 

APPENDIX. 


illUIIIIIfftilllii 

FIG.  XXXIII-B. 


APPENDIX. 


621 


FIG.  XXXIII-C. 


APPENDIX. 


FIG.  XXXIII-D. 


INDEX, 


PAGE 

Aachen  iron  industry 548 

Absolute  zero 618 

Acid  open  hearth  process 12, 179 

Acid  vs.  Basic  Steel 14,  23,  25,  28 

Air,  composition  of 159 

Air,  properties  of 617 

Air  needed  in  combustion 160 

Akerman,  on  Swedish  Bessemer  work 104  et  seq. 

Alabama,  iron  industry 41,  477 

Algeria,  statistics 615 

Allegheny  County 468 

Allotropic  forms,  microscopic 296 

theory  311 

Alpha  iron ; 311 

Alumina  in  blast  furnace  slag 51 

Aluminum,  influence  on  physical  properties 361 

in  castings 413 

Alzola,  on  Spanish  ores 601 

American  practice 470 

American  Society  for  Testing  Materials 25 

American  Steel  Manufacturers'  Association 24 

Angles,  physical  properties 264  et  seq. 

Annealing 274  et  seq.,  320 

Anthracite,  combustion  of 159, 160 

in  blast  furnace 43,  447 

in  producers  166 

in  Russia 567 

mining  districts  in  United  States 450 

Appleby,  on  tests  of  rounds 325 

Arnold,  on  sub-carbide  theory ". 312 

Arsenic,  effect  on  physical  properties 363 

Ash  from  producer 163 

Ash  in  coal i 163, 164, 178 

Atomic  weights  617 

Austenite 296  et  seq. 

Australia,  statistics 615 

623 


624  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Austria-Hungary,  iron  industry 576 

statistics 615  et  seq. 

Ayrshire,  see  Scotland. 

Bahnis-Roozeboom,  on  phase  doctrine 311 

Ball,  on  effect  of  copper 360 

Barba,  on  tests  of  steel 326  et  seq. 

Barrow-in-Furness    517 

Basic  vs.  acid  steel 14,  23,  25,  28 

Basic  linings,  functions  of 190 

Basic  open  hearth  process 15, 190 

Bauxite  for  basic  hearths 190 

Bessemer,  acid  process 7, 100 

basic  process 8, 113 

basic  at  Troy 494 

basic  steel,  quality 14 

calorific  history,  acid 108  et  seq. 

calorific  history,  basic 119 

for  steel  castings ' 26,  410 

gases  from 106 

increments  in  cost 232 

in  Sweden 104, 108 

iron  burned,  acid 107 

iron  burned,  basic 120 

lime  used,  basic 115 

pig  iron 5 

slag,  acid 106 

slag,  basic 116 

steel  6 

vs.  open  hearth 14 

Bavaria,  iron  industry 551 

Belgium,  coal  fields 554 

iron  industry  '. 587 

labor  question 591 

statistics 615  et  seq. 

Bell,  on  blast  furnace  reactions 50,  60,  61,  67  et  seq. 

Bertrand,  on  Austria-Hungary 576 

Bertrand-Thiel  process 216  et  seq.,  225,  227,  579 

Beta  iron • 311 

Bethlehem  works 493 

Bilbao  ore 41 

Bituminous  coal 450 

in  gas  producer * 161 

Black  band , 41,  511,  521 

Blast,  for  blast  furnaces 45 

heating  of 46,  77 


INDEX.  625 

PAGE 

Blast  furnace -.. 3,  4,  5,  37  et  seq. 

boilers 69,  77,  79 

chemical  reactions 53  et  seq. 

gas  in  gas  engines 80 

height  of 40 

Blauvelt,  on  coke  ovens 175 

Blister  steel 94 

Blow-holes  in  steel  castings 412 

Bohemia,  iron  industry 41,  579 

Boilers,  over  heating  furnaces 171 

blast  furnace 69,  77 

Bounties 439 

Canadian 608 

Brown  hematite  40 

Braune,  on  Sweden 593 

By-products   *. 174 

Calorie,  value 618 

Calorific  equation  of  acid  converter 108 

basic  converter 119 

open  hearth  furnace 148  et  seq. 

Campbell,  tilting  furnace 132  et  seq.,  211 

Campbell,  J.  W..  on  heat  treatment 274 

Canada,  iron  industry 607 

statistics  615 

Cape  Breton,  iron  industry 607 

Carbo-Allotropic  theory  311 

Carbon,  calorific  value  in  converter 109 

calorific  value  in  open  hearth 222 

combustion  of 158 

determination  of 31 

effect  on  pig  iron 4,81 

effect  on  steel 22,  343,  368  et  seq. 

effect  on  wrought  iron 91 

for  basic  hearths 190 

in  producer  ash ,. . .  163 

in  puddle  furnace  86 

in  tool  steel 97 

protective  power  of 180 

segregation  of 234  et  seq. 

theory  (metallography)    310 

Carbon  deposition 57 

Carbonic  acid  and  iron 55 

in  blast  furnace 44,  53  et  seq. 

in  producer  gas 165 

Carbonic  oxide,  combustion  of , 158 


626  INDEX. 

Cast  iron,  see  pig  iron.  PAGE 

Cast  steel 97 

Cement  carbon   306 

Cementation  94 

Cement  steel 94 

Cementite  in  cast  iron 83 

in  steel 296  et  seq. 

Central  Iron  &  Steel  Co.,  wrought  iron 89 

Charcoal  in  blast  furnace 42,  571 

Charge  in  open  hearth  furnace 179 

Checkers  in  regenerators 126 

Chicago,  iron  industry 473 

Chromite  for  basic  hearths 190 

Chromium,  effect  on  physical  properties 366 

Clay  iron  stone 41 

Cleveland  (England),  iron  industry 41,  66  et  seq.,  700  et  seq. 

Cleveland  (U.  S.),  iron  industry 491 

Coal  production   615,  619 

Coal  fields.,  see  Table  of  Contents. 

Coal  washing 178 

Cobalt,  effect  on  welding 91,  403 

Coke  districts  of  United  States 454 

exports  from  N.  B.  coast  (England) 507 

imports  and  exports,  see  Table  of  Contents. 

in  blast  furnace 43 

Coke  ovens 173 

use  abroad  422 

Combustion,  general  view 158 

Colby,  on  influence  of  copper 361 

on  influence  of  nickel 365 

Colorado,  iron  industry 492 

Colored  labor  in  Alabama 483 

Connellsville,  coke 43,  66  et  seq. 

coke  ovens 175 

coke  and  coal  industry 454,  469 

Continuous  furnaces 172 

Cooper,  on  Northeast  Coast 503 

Copper,  effect  on  welding 91,  403 

in  Cornwall  ore 358 

influence  on  physical  properties 22,  358 

Cornwall  ore  deposit 484,  495 

copper  in 358 

Crucible  steel 7,  94 

Crystallization  by  heat 402 

Critical  point  287 

Cuba,  ore 41,  358,  447,  488 

statistics 447,  615 


INDEX.  627 

PAGE 

Cuban  ore,  smelting  of 59 

Cumberland,  iron  industry 517 

Cunningham,  on  segregation 240 

Cupola  castings  -,  „ j 

practice   110 

Ouster,  on  tests  of  steel 326,  340 

Cyanogen  in  blast  furnace 65 

Depreciation 437 

Derbyshire,  iron  industry 524 

Diameter,  influence  on  physical  properties 322 

Direct  metal  at  Steelton 142 

in  open  hearth  211 

in  Bessemer   108 

ore  needed 224 

Dissociation   123 

Distances  in  America  and  Europe 441 

Dolomite  in  basic  Bessemer 9, 113 

in  basic  open  hearth 15, 190 

in  blast  furnace 480 

Don,  basin  of 41,  567 

Donawitz,  iron  industry 582 

open  hearth  furnace 132 

Dougherty,  on  blast  furnace 53,  61 

Dowlais  Iron  Co.,  plan  of  works 515,  516 

Drillings,  method  of  taking 395 

Drop  of  the  beam 339 

Duplex  process   231 

Duquesne,  open  hearth  furnace 132 

Durham,  coal  and  coke.  * 43,  68,  69,  506 

Dutreux,  iron  industry  of  France 553 

Edison,  on  ore  concentration 495 

Ehrenwerth,  on  acid  Bessemer  practice Ul 

on  open  hearth  practice 186 

Elastic  limit 399 

ratio  339,  396,  397 

Elba,  ore  605 

Elbers,  on  blast  furnace  slag 51 

Electric  concentration 495 

welding 406 

Elongation  20 

errors  in  measuring 339 

influence  of  diameter 323 

influence  of  width 324  et  seq. 

influence  of  length 327  et  seq. 


628  INDEX. 

England,  see  Great  Britain.  PAGE 

Ensley,  Alabama,  coke  ovens 175 

Errors  in  chemical  records 31 

Erzberg,  ore  deposit 582 

Eutectic  alloy 298 

Exports  from  Sweden 597 

of  ore  from  Germany 527 

Eye  bars,  annealing 282 

physical  properties 314,  316 

tests  on  330 

Felton,  on  rest  after  rolling 337 

Ferrite  in  cast  iron 83 

in  steel , 296  et  seq. 

Ferro-manganese 8,  12,  82,  350 

Ferro-silicon,  composition  of 81,  83 

Findley,  on  Lake  Superior  ore 456 

Finishing  temperature,  effect  of 302 

Firmstone,  on  dolomite 50 

Fluidity  of  basic  slag 197 

Flux  in  blast  furnace 49  et  seq. 

use  of  dolomite 480 

Forest  of  Dean 514 

Forgings,  physical  properties 263,  314 

Formulae  for  tensile  strength 23,  368  et  seq. 

Porter  valve 147 

France,  iron  industry 553  et  seq. 

statistics 615 

Freights 439 

Fuel 158  et  seq. 

Fuel  blast  furnace 42 

Gamma  iron 311 

Gas,  blast  furnace , , 37,  53  et  seq. 

for  gas  engines  80 

for  open  hearth  furnace 123 

from  basic  converter 116 

from  tunnel  head  71  et  seq. 

producer 162 

Gayley,  on  blast  furnace 48,  73 

German  nomenclature 7 

Germany,  acid  Bessemer  practice 104 

iron  industry 525 

rolling  mill  practice 424 

statistics 615  et  seq. 

statistics,  errors  in 609 

Gjers  soaking  pits 170 


INDEX.  629 

Gogebic,  see  Lake  Superior.  PAGE 

Graphite  in  pig  iron 4 

Great  Britain,  competitive  factors 421 

exports  of  fuel 496 

imports  of  ore 497 

iron  industry 496 

production  by  districts 498 

production  of  rails 445 

production  of  steel 445 

statistics 615  et  seq. 

Greece,  statistics 615 

Grooved  tests  vs.  parallel-sided 316 

Guide  rounds  vs.  hand  rounds 268 

Hadfield,  on  effects  of  aluminum 362 

on  effects  of  silicon 344 

on  effects  of  manganese 354 

on  steel  castings 412 

Hand  rounds  vs.  guide  rounds '. .  268 

Harbord,  on  effect  of  arsenic 363 

on  basic  Bessemer  practice 120 

Hard  coal,  see  anthracite. 

Hardening  carbon 306 

Hartshorne,  on  Bertrand-Thiel  process 217 

Heating  furnaces 170 

Heat  lost  in  open  hearth  furnace 149  et  seq. 

Heat  treatment 274  et  seq. 

Hematite 40,  479,  517 

Henning,  on  elastic  limit 339 

on  annealing 282 

JHibbard,  on  oxide  of  iron 367 

High  carbon  steel 94 

homogeneity  of 249 

Hofman,  on  coking 150 

Holley,  on  wrought  iron 90 

Hot  working,  influence  of 18 

Howe,  on  acid  Bessemer 103 

on  carbon  deposition 60 

on  critical  point 287 

on  effect  of  phosphorus 356 

on  effect  of  silicon 344 

on  invisibility   286 

on  micro-metallurgy 299 

on  structure  of  pig  iron 83 

on  melting  point 414 

Humidity  47 


630  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Hungary,  iron  industry 41,  584 

statistics 615  et  seq. 

Hunt,  A.  E.,  on  influence  of  methods  of  manufacture 392 

on  quench  test 400 

Illinois  Steel  Co.,  Bessemer  practice 102 

manufacturing  plants 665 

Ilsede,  iron  industry 549 

Increments  in  cost,  duplex  process 232 

India,  statistics 615 

Influence  of  elements  on  steel 21,  343 

Ingot  iron 93 

Ingot  steel 93 

Inspection 27  et  seq. 

Iron  oxide  in  basic  slag 196 

in  open  hearth 214 

Iron,  primitive  methods  of  making ' 35 

Italy,  iron  industry 605 

•     statistics 615 

Japan,  statistics 615 

Joeuf  district 557 

Johnstown,  iron  industry 483 

Jones  &  Laughlin,  blast  furnace 38 

Julian,  on  Bessemer  practice. 102 

von  Jiiptner,  on  open  hearth  practice 149  et  seq. 

on  producer  work 163 

Jurugua,  mine  in  Cuba 488 

Kennedy,  Julian,  on  Russia 563 

Kertsch,  ore  beds  in  Russia 569 

Kirchhoff,  on  Cleveland  (England)  district 504  et  seq. 

on  Germany 525  et  seq. 

Kladno,  iron  industry 579 

open  hearth 216  et  seq. 

Krivoi  Rog,  ore  beds  in  Russia 567 

Krupp  works 541 

Labor  in  Alabama 483 

in  Belgium  591 

in  England   421 

in  Russia 564 

Labor  organizations 426 

Lahn,  iron  industry 552 

Lake  Champlain,  ore  deposits 494 

Lake  Erie,  iron  industry 489 

Lake  Superior,  ore 41,  456 

statistics  ..  .459 


INDEX.  031 

Lanarkshire,  see  Scotland.  PAGE 

Lancashire  hearth 595 

iron  industry  517 

Lash,  on  open  hearth  construction 125 

Laudig,  on  carbon  deposition 57,  58 

Least  squares,  use  of  method 23,  368  et  seq. 

Lebanon,  see  Steelton. 

Ledebur,  on  blast  furnace 50 

Leicester,  iron  industry 522 

Length,  influence  on  physical  properties 327,  335,  399 

Lignite  in  Germany 550 

in  France 561 

Lime  in  basic  Bessemer 114  et  seq. 

in  basic  open  hearth 191  et  seq. 

in  blast  furnace  49  et  seq. 

Limestone  in  basic  open  hearth 191 

in  blast  furnace   49  et  seq. 

Limonite   : . . . . 40,  478 

Lincolnshire,  iron  industry 522 

Liquation  of  sulphide  of  manganese 201 

Liquid  interior  of  ingot,  composition 253 

Longitudinal  vs.  transverse  tests 314 

Longwy  district,  France 557 

Lorraine,  see  Lothringen. 

Lothringen,  iron  industry 527 

Lunge,  on  water  gas 168 

Luxemburg,  iron  industry < 527 

Magnesia  in  basic  open  hearth 195 

Magnesite  for  basic  hearths 190 

Magnetic  concentration 42 

Magnetic  properties,  effect  of  heat 288,  309 

Magnetite 41 

in  United  States 495 

Manganese,  allowable  content 350 

determinations  of  31 

effect  on  steel 22,  350,  368  et  seq. 

effect  on  welding 403,  408 

in  acid  Bessemer 104, 112 

in  acid  open  hearth 271,  280 

in  basic  Bessemer 117 

in  basic  open  hearth 201 

in  blast  furnace 82 

in  steel  castings 413 

in  crucible  steel 95 

in  pig  iron  82 

in  puddle  furnace 86 


632  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Manganese  lost  in  recarburization 188 

protective  power 180 

segregation 234  et  seq. 

use  in  removing  sulphur 201 

Manganese  steel 354 

Markets  of  the  world 423 

Martensite 296  et  seq. 

Martin,  on  micro-metallography 303 

Maryland  Steel  Co.,  see  Sparrows  Point. 

Bessemer  plant 100 

coke  ovens 175 

rail  manufacture 305 

Mason,  on  German  statistics 609 

Menominee,  see  Lake  Superior. 

Mesabi,  see  Lake  Superior. 

carbon  deposition  57 

Method  of  least  squares • 23,  368  et  seq. 

Metric  system 618 

Meurthe  et  Moselle 553 

Microscope,  use  of  on  steel 296  et  seq. 

Middlesbrough,  see  Cleveland. 

Mill  cinder  " 89 

Minette  district 40,  41,  528,  530,  553 

Mixer,  see  Receiver. 

Monell,  on  open  hearth  practice 230 

on  Russia 563 

Moravia,  iron  industry 530 

Muck  bar 6,  85 

Natal,  statistics 615 

Natural  gas 167,  470 

Neutral  joint 190 

Newfoundland,  ore 41,  607 

New  England,  iron  industry 494 

New  Jersey,  iron  industry 42,  494 

New  South  Wales,  statistics 615 

New  York,  iron  industry 42,  494 

Nickel,  effect  on  physical  properties 23,  364 

effect  on  welding 91,  403 

Nickel  steel,  homogeneity  of 250 

de  Nimot,  on  Belgium 587 

Nord  district,  France 558 

Northeast  Coast  (England),  iron  industry 503 

Northamptonshire,  iron  industry 522 

Norway,  iron 600 

Nottingham,  iron  industry 522 


INDEX.  633 

Oberschlesein,  see  Silesia.  PAGE 

Odelstjerna,  on  effect  of  aluminum 362 

on  open  hearth  practice 186 

Oil,  as  fuel 167 

Oolite   40 

Open  hearth  furnace 11,  122,  et  seq. 

furnace,  with  natural  gas 470 

process,  acid 12,  179 

process,  basic  190 

metal  for  rails 393 

metal  for  tool  steel 97 

manufacture  in  United  States 207,  446 

Ore,  see  Statistics. 

cost  of  transportation 463 

imported  into  United  States 447 

in  acid  open  hearth  furnace 13, 182, 184 

in  basic  open  hearth  furnace 192 

in  Bessemer  converter 224 

international  trade 611 

reduction,  absorption  of  heat 224 

supply  of,  America 457 

supply  of,  world 613 

Osnabruck,  iron  industry 551 

Oswald,  on  Germany 536 

Otto  Hoffman,  coke  ovens 175,  177 

Overheating,  see  Heat  Treatment. 

Oxidation  in  open  hearth 224 

Oxide  of  iron,  effect  on  physical  properties 366 

reactions  in  blast  furnace 53  et  seq. 

Oxychloride  of  lime 202 

Pas  de  Calais  district,  France 558 

Pearlite  in  cast  iron 83 

in  steel 296  et  seq. 

Peine,  iron  industry 549 

Pennsylvania,  see  Table  of  Contents. 

Pennsylvania  Steel  Co.,  see  Steelton;   see  also  all  tables  and  tests 

where  other  sources  of  information  are  not  mentioned. 

Pennsylvania  Steel  Co.,  low  phosphorus  acid  steel 208 

slabbing  mill 260 

Petroleum 167 

Phase  doctrine 311 

Phillips,  on  Alabama 477 

on  blast  furnace  practice 50,51 

Phosphorus,  allowable  content 356  et  seq. 

calorific  value  10 

determinations  of 31 


634  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Phosphorus  effect  on  steel,. 22,  356,  368  et  seq. 

effect  on  welding 91,  403 

in  acid  open  hearth 187 

in  basic  open  hearth 15,  191,  193 

in  basic  Bessemer 9»  114 

in  Bertrand-Thiel  process 216 

in  blast  furnace 4 

in  steel  castings 413 

in  tool  steel 95 

in  puddling  furnace 86 

segregation  of 234  et  seq. 

Physical  properties,  see  Chapters  XIV  and  XVI. 

Pig  and  ore  process  at  Steelton 142,  184,  186,  211 

Pig  iron,  see  Statistics. 

composition   81 

international  trade 611 

manufacture 3,  4,  5 

production  in  leading  nations 613  et  seq. 

production,  per  capita 611 

Pinget,  on  France 558 

Pipes,  in  castings  413 

Pittsburgh,  blast  furnace  practice. 66,  67,  70 

iron  industry 468 

Plates,  rolled  from  ingots 18,  259 

rolled  from  slabs 18,  260 

physical  properties 259 

tests  on   398 

Poland,  iron  industry 573 

Pomerania,  iron  industry 552 

Ports,  open  hearth  furnaces 144 

Possession  works  in  Russia 572 

Pourcel,  on  segregation 237  et  seq. 

Preliminary  tests 318,  369 

Producers 160 

Products  of  combustion 159 

Production,  see  Table  of  Contents. 

of  steel  in  United  States 444 

of  steel  in  Great  Britain 445 

Protective  power  of  elements ISO 

Puddling  furnace 5,85 

Pueblo,  steel  plant 492 

Pulling  speed,  effect  on  physical  properties 341,  342 

Pyrometer   284,  285 

Quench  test 400 


INDEX.  635 

PA.GE 

Radiation,  loss  from,  in  open  hearth 152 

Rails,  method  of  rolling 304 

of  open  hearth  steel 393 

Railways,  miles  of 423 

Raw  coal  in  blast  furnace 43,  512 

Recarburizer,  function  of 8,  350 

in  acid  Bessemer 112 

in  basic  Bessemer 120 

in  acid  open  hearth 188 

in  basic  open  hearth 205 

Red  hematite 40 

Reduction  of  ore,  heat  absorption 219  et  seq. 

in  open  hearth  furnace 184,  329 

Regenerative  furnaces 11, 122, 170 

Removal  of  slag  in  open  hearth 204,  211 

Rephosphorization  in  basic  Bessemer 120 

in  basic  open  hearth 205 

Rest  after  rolling 337 

Reverberatory  furnaces 170 

Reversing  valves,  open  hearth  furnace 144 

Richards,  R.  H.,  on  blast  furnace  phenomena 60 

Riley,  on  effect  of  nickel 364 

on  effect  of  work  on  steel 258 

Roberts-Austen,  on  micro-metallurgy 299 

Rounds,  influence  of  diameter 322 

Royal  Prussian  Institute,  welding  tests 406 

Ruhr,  iron  industry 537 

Russia,  iron  industry 563 

ore  41 

statistics 615  et  seq. 

Saar,  iron  industry 547 

Sandberg,  on  influence  of  silicon 349 

Saniter,  on  use  of  oxychloride  of  lime 202 

Sauveur,  on  micro-metallurgy 299 

Saxony,  iron  industry 550 

Schonwalder,  open  hearth  furnace 131 

Schrodter,  on  German  statistics 609 

on  Germany  525,  542 

Scotland,  coal  in  blast  furnace 43 

iron  industry 511 

Seebohm,  on  crucible  steel 94 

Segregation » 17,  19,  234  et  seq. 

Semet  Solvay  coke  ovens 174, 175, 176 

Sensible  heat  in  producer  gas 164 

Shape  of  test-piece,  effect  of 19, 25 


636  INDEX. 

PAGE 

Sharon,  open  hearth  furnace 126 

Sheffield,  see  South  Yorkshire. 

Shenango  Valley 468 

Shock,  influence  on  physical  properties 352,  353 

Shoulders,  effect  on  test-pieces 316 

Siegen,  iron  industry 550 

Silesia,  iron  industry,  Germany 544 

iron  industry,  Austria 580 

Silica  in  basic  slags 198 

in  open  hearth  furnace 227 

Silicon,  calorific  value  in  converter 8, 109 

calorific  value  in  open  hearth 221 

change  of  affinity  with  temperature 103 

determinations  of 31 

effect  on  steel 22,  344 

effect  on  welding 91,  403 

in  acid  converter 103,  111 

in  acid  open  hearth 180 

in  basic  converter 114 

in  blast  furnace  81 

in  steel  castings 413 

in  crucible  steel 95 

in  puddling  furnace 85 

protective  power  of 180 

Silico-spiegel,  composition  of 83 

Sink  heads 26 

Sjogren,  on  Austria 576 

Slag,  phosphorus  in  acid 103 

acid  Bessemer 105 

acid  open  hearth 12,  183 

automatic  regulation 17 

basic  Bessemer 115 

basic  open  hearth 193  et  seq. 

blast  furnace 44  et  seq. 

effect  on  welding 584 

removal  of,  in  open  hearth 211 

in  wrought  iron 129  et  seq. 

Snelus,  on  influence  of  silicon 340 

on  use  of  oxychloride  of  lime 202 

Soaking  pits 170 

Soft  coal,  see  Bituminous  Coal. 

Soot,  in  producer  gas 162 

Sorbite 296  et  seq. 

South  African  Republic,  statistics 615 

South  Russia,  iron  industry 567 

South  Wales,  iron  industry 514 


INDEX.  63? 

PAGE 

South  Yorkshire,  iron  industry 520 

Spain,  iron  industry 41,  601 

statistics 615 

Spanish  ore,  composition  and  cost 508 

in  Germany 540 

in  Great  Britain 515 

Sparrows  Point,  iron  industry 485 

rail  exports 489 

Spathic  ore 41 

Specific  heat  of  gases 618 

Specifications  on  steel 24,  394 

Speed  of  testing  machine,  influence  of. 330,  342 

Spiegel,  composition  of 82,  83 

use  of  8,  350 

Stable  basic  slags 200 

Stafford,  on  open  hearth  ports 144 

Staffordshire,  iron  industry 521 

Standard  test-pieces  399 

Statistics 615  et  seq. 

Stead,  on  effect  of  arsenic 364 

on  micro-metallography 306 

on  use  of  oxychloride  of  lime 202 

Steam  in  producer  gas 123 

Steel,  see  Statistics. 

definition    6,  94 

castings    26,  409 

Steelton,  iron  industry 483 

Stoves,  blast  furnace 3,  37  et  seq. 

Structural  work,  use  of  soft  steel 396 

Structure  of  steel,  theories 310 

Styria,  iron  industry 41,  582 

Sub-carbide  theory 312 

Sulphur,  determinations  of 31 

effect  on  steel 22,  355,  368  et  seq. 

in  acid  open  hearth 187 

in  basic  Bessemer 117 

in  basic  open  hearth. 200 

in  blast  furnace 4,  49  et  seq. 

in  Cornwall  ore 484 

in  crucible  steel 95 

in  producer  gas 123 

in  puddle  furnace   86 

in  steel  castings  413 

in  Talbot  furnace 215 

Sweden,  Bessemer  practice 104, 108 

crucible  steel  .  98 


638  INDEX. 

PACE 

Sweden,    iron  industry 41,  593 

Swedish  ingots,  segregation 255 

Taf na,  ore 41 

Talbot  process 213 

Tar  in  producer  gas 162 

Tariff  question 435 

Temperature,  determination  of 285 

effect  on  combustion  of  silicon 103 

of  Bessemer  converter  108 

of  blast  furnace 45,  71  et  seq. 

of  melted  steel 414 

of  puddle  furnace   88 

of  open  hearth  furnace 146 

Test-pieces,  method  of  taking 19,  313 

steel  castings 414 

Thickness,  effect  on  physical  qualities 257 

Tilting  furnaces 132,  211 

Titanium,  protective  power  of 180 

ores  containing  42 

Transferred  steel 207  et  seq. 

Troostite 296  et  seq. 

Tropenas  process 26,  412 

Tucker,  on  effect  of  arsenic 363 

Tunnel-head  gases 3,  37  et  seq. 

Tungsten,  effect  on  physical  properties 364 

Turner,  on  influence  of  silicon 347 

Union  Bridge  Co.,  eye  bars 330 

United  States,  iron  industry 441 

statistics 442  et  seq.,  615  et  seq. 

Unstable  basic  slags 200 

Urals,  iron  industry 570 

Valves,  open  hearth  furnace 144 

Vermilion,  see  Lake  Superior. 

Virginia,  iron  industry 441 

Wahlberg,  on  segregation 31,  98,  254 

Wales,  see  North  Wales  and  South  Wales. 

Washed  metal  207 

Washing  of  coal 178 

Waste  gases  from  heating  furnaces 171 

heat  lost  in  open  hearth 152 

in  blast  furnaces 70  et  seq. 

Water  gas 168 

Water  vapor  in  air 47  et  seq. 


INDEX.  639 

PAGE 

Webster,  on  influence  of  sulphur 355 

on  elongation    330 

on  influence  of  metalloids 368 

on  physical  properties 272 

Wedding,  on  basic  Bessemer 116, 118 

on  Germany 525 

Weld  iron,  definition  92 

Weld  steel,  definition 92 

Westphalia,  see  Ruhr. 

Welding 26,  138,  402 

Wellman,  charging  machine 211 

furnace  132 

West  Virginia,  see  Pittsburgh. 

While,  on  Lancashire  and  Cumberland 517 

White,  on  method  of  manufacture 392 

Whitwell,  on  Spanish  ore 508 

Width,  influence  on  physical  properties 325,  331 

Wingham,  on  effect  of  copper 360 

Woman  labor  in  Belgium 591 

Woodbridge,  on  Lake  ore  deposits 458 

Work,  effect  on  steel 18,  257  et  s&q*,  302 

Wrought  iron,  definition 92 

manufacture  5,  85 

welding  of 90,583 

Yield  point,  see  Elastic  Limit. 

Yorkshire  (South),  iron  industry 520 

Zone  of  fusion 3,  37 


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